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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23630194">Never Say Never</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thoronris/pseuds/Thoronris'>Thoronris</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Death, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Light BDSM, Master/Slave, Rape, Rape Recovery, Rough Sex, Sex, Slavery, Stockholm Syndrome</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:35:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>24,215</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23630194</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thoronris/pseuds/Thoronris</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The war ends, but the good side is defeated. In recognition of their services, Voldemort gives his loyal Death Eaters some of the surviving wizards and witches from Harry's side as slaves. And so Hermione finds herself in the hands of the Malfoy family, alone, without her wand, with no hope that light will ever triumph.</p><p>But Hermione would not be Hermione if she were to give up so easily. She defies the cruel games Draco plays with her, defies his father and survives the violence she experiences through Severus Snape of all people. As long as she lives, there is hope, for she knows that one must never say never.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Lucius Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Severus Snape</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>79</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>256</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The End</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            A translation of

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/3868627">Never say never</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thoronris/pseuds/Thoronris">Thoronris</a>.
        </li>

    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>Hermione was trembling. Fear, despair, anger and above all shame rocked her body. Where had it gone wrong? Only yesterday she had fought alongside Harry on the battlefield outside Hogwarts - and today she stood naked in the Malfoys' mansion. All around her, Death Eaters who no longer felt the need to hide their faces.</p><p>To her right was Harry, to her left Ron; both were naked, as were all the other students and professors who had fallen into the clutches of the Death Eaters. Only one professor was not among them: Severus Snape was in the ranks of the enemy. With an expressionless face he examined his former colleagues, let his gaze wander again and again over the exposed bodies of Hermione and her friends. But there was no time to be upset by his final betrayal, for it was at this moment that Lord Voldemort entered the great banquet hall.</p><p>Hermione felt Harry tense beside her, and suddenly she realised that they would all die within seconds. Her despair was palpable, and the question came up again: Why? What had gone wrong? Why were they standing here?</p><p>"My dear friends,” the Dark Lord now spoke, “what a beautiful day it is today! Before us stands, imprisoned and humbled, the Chosen One, the hope of all Mudbloods and Muggle lovers - Harry Potter!"</p><p>Cheers broke out under the black robes, scornful shouts and insults echoed from the walls of the great hall. Only two figures seemed to remain untouched: Severus Snape did not move, only an unfathomable twitch around the corners of his mouth. And next to him, almost stiff, with a petrified expression, stood Lucius Malfoy.</p><p>But again, Hermione's attention was distracted by Voldemort's speech. "Victory is now ours! At last we can build a world as it should have existed a long time ago! Finally, no more hiding from the Muggles! From now on, they will know us! Henceforth, we, the pureblood wizards, will rule the world!"</p><p>Again, cheering was on the rise and this time a grin appeared on the face of Lucius Malfoy.</p><p>"But first, let me thank a faithful servant! Goyle, step forward!"</p><p>The massive figure of the young Goyle broke away from the crowd. His face shone with pride, in his hand he held - the wand of Harry.</p><p>"Our good Goyle, in an unseen moment, struck Potter with his own weapons! A well-aimed Expelliarmus made Goyle victor over the Chosen One," explained Voldemort. A superior, contemptuous grin appeared on his lips. "You don't know how great your service was! Thanks to you, I will soon be able to kill Potter!"</p><p>A murmur went through the room. Hermione noticed Harry clenching his fists. Did Voldemort know? Her eyes fell on Snape, whose expression had darkened considerably. Mortal fear and anxiety for her best friend were spreading. It was over. If Voldemort had found out, then Harry would die. Despairing, she looked back at Voldemort and Goyle, whose proud grin showed that he understood nothing.</p><p>"Dear Goyle, rest assured your name will go down in history. Goyle, the man who gave me, Lord Voldemort, the power to kill the Chosen One - by giving his life," announced Voldemort, pausing artfully to let his words sink in. Silence fell over the hall as everyone understood what was about to happen - everyone except Goyle himself.</p><p>"I see, Goyle, your trust in me is infinite. I am honoured by your loyalty," Lord Voldemort continued, "who would have thought that there is such a good servant in my ranks. Anyone here can take a leaf out of your book. And it is precisely because you are so loyal that I am sure you will not hold it against me for what I now intend to do, indeed, must do!</p><p>Once again, the Dark Lord paused in his speech and now there was a slight confusion on Goyle's face. But before he fully understood the meaning of his master's words, it was already too late.</p><p>"Avada Kedavra."</p><p>Lifeless, the big man sank to the ground. It was deathly quiet in the great ballroom, none of those present understood why this murder had been necessary - none except Hermione, Harry and Severus Snape. The young witch struggled with tears. It was obvious that Voldemort was not thinking of sparing Harry's life, and why should he? He had won, and the only thing missing from his final victory was the murder of his worst enemy.</p><p>"You are certainly asking yourselves now why I killed the brave Goyle," cried Voldemort over the heads of those present, "The answer to that is complicated, but so as not to stand there as a monster, I will gladly explain it to you! In my hands I hold the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand this world has ever seen. Because of an ancient magic, I was never able to kill Harry. My wand was connected to his, but I could not harm him with other wands either. Only the Elder Wand, more powerful than any other, can kill Harry Potter. But the wand only reveals its true power when you become its true owner. It has taken me a long time to fully understand the mechanism. Only my faithful servant Severus Snape gave me the answer yesterday!"</p><p>Hermione's eyes sprang up to the man he was talking to. In fact, the former headmaster nodded grimly and bowed just before his master. So that had been the trigger for this evil.</p><p>"Dumbledore had been the owner of the Elder Wand for a long time, and I thought it would be enough to remove this staff from his corpse. But I could not harness its power fully. Since Severus had killed Dumbledore a year ago, I assumed that he was the new, true owner and I could bring the wand under my control by his death. But he proved me wrong. He explained that the new owner would not be the killer of the original owner, but his conqueror. And who was it that challenged Dumbledore on top of the Astronomy Tower?"</p><p>The rhetorical question did not remain unanswered for long, for of course all Death Eaters knew the story of how Draco Malfoy had confronted Dumbledore but had not killed him.</p><p>"Exactly, young Malfoy did it! Thus, he was the new, true owner, though unaware of the existence of the Elder Wand. And fate treated me unkindly! When Harry Potter and his friends were held prisoner in this very mansion, they managed to free themselves - and Potter became the new owner through his Expelliarmus spell against Draco. When Snape disclosed this to me, I almost exploded with rage at the ungracious fate. But then came Goyle. He defeated Harry, became the new owner - and by defeating him, by his death, I am finally the ruler of the Elder Wand!"</p><p>Hermione looked around. The professors of Hogwarts and a few Death Eaters nodded, but most of those present did obviously not understood what the Dark Lord explained to them. But it did not matter, it was enough for them to know that by killing Goyle, their master would finally be able to kill Harry. Hateful glances were directed at Snape, who was not only a traitor, but had given vital information to the enemy. Severus Snape had sealed the end of Harry Potter. Everyone was aware of this, especially Hermione, who fought against tears. She was desperately looking for a way out, but she knew there was none. Harry beside her seemed calm, composed, almost serene.</p><p>"Mione," he whispered softly, "even if I die, it's not over. You can't stop fighting. As long as one of us lives, you must fight."</p><p>She nodded, but Hermione was sure that she too would not live to see the next day. Every single member of the order would die today, for then there were no more serious opponents for Voldemort.</p><p>"Harry Potter," the Dark Lord said to his arch-enemy, "you fought bravely, but you never had a chance. Dumbledore failed you with his death. You've always been cannon fodder for him. Come here, I'll save you from the misery of your life."</p><p>"Harry, no!" cried Ron and wanted to reach for his best friend, but the binding spells that surrounded them all immobilized him. Only Harry was free to go and so he stepped forward.</p><p>"My death won't change anything, Tom," Harry hurled at Voldemort, "Just like Dumbledore's death didn’t change anything. There will always be those who condemn your dark world and want you dead. One day, you will fall forever."</p><p>A high, mad laugh wrenched its way down the Dark Lord's throat. "So brave to the end! Alas, you'll have no chance to test your own words!"</p><p>Hermione closed her eyes and let her tears flow. It seemed as if the whole hall held its breath while the two enemies stared at each other. The tension built up until it was almost unbearable. Seconds passed and still the death curse had not been spoken. Carefully, Hermione opened her eyes again, hoping that a miracle had happened in the meantime.</p><p>"Avada Kedavra," Voldemort's cold voice resounded, and for the second time within minutes a lifeless body fell to the ground. The Dark Lord's icy eyes burned into Hermione's tear-filled eyes. It seemed as if he was just waiting for her to look ahead again. Mockery and contempt were in his gaze and met hatred and despair in Hermione’s.</p><p>Now it was really over. No matter what Harry had said, Lord Voldemort would now kill all those who might still be dangerous to him. Her, Ron, the others of the Order. Their fate was sealed, and there was nothing more they could do.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Never say never</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She longed for a hug. How Hermione wished she could sink into the strong arms of Ron, at least for a moment. But they were still bound by the spell that had kept them in one spot all afternoon.</p>
<p>Harry's body lay at her feet and the tension-filled dead silence had dissolved into exuberant cheering on one side and desperate sobbing on the other. Harry Potter, the Chosen One, was dead. Seeking help, Hermione let her eyes wander through the room, trying to take in everything despite being frozen on the spot. She met Professor McGonagall’s gaze, who seemed as desperate as she was. The venerable professor was approaching her eighties and for the first time Hermione could really see her age.</p>
<p>"What shall we do with the rest of the Muggle lovers and Mudbloods here, dear friends," Lord Voldemort's voice cut through the cheers and sobs. </p>
<p>Icy cold fear spread through Hermione's body - now the time of death had come for her too. Loud shouts rang through the hall, most of them demanding the death of all prisoners.</p>
<p>"I see you want to come clean," Voldemort said, as the brief disturbance began to subside, "but I disagree. As rulers of this new world, we cannot afford to let anything other than politics distract our attention. As in ancient Rome, it falls to us now to decide the fate of the world, while our slaves provide for our physical well-being!"</p>
<p>Once again loud murmurs broke out, the remaining Death Eaters discussed the proposal of their master. Mudbloods as slaves? The temptation of this proposal was great, some whispered, as being a slave would surely be even more painful than a quick, instant death. It took only a few minutes, when even the last one was convinced that this was the much better plan.</p>
<p>"I thought that you would choose to accept my proposal. Just imagine what you could do to the defenceless wizards and witches here. There should be no limit to your imagination in dealing with your slaves, for slaves are no more than tools in everyday life; they must function and if they don't, you can throw them away and replace them," the Dark Lord proclaimed with a laugh. </p>
<p>Applause rose and Hermione noticed how especially in the faces of the old Death Eaters a strange expression suddenly appeared. Instantly, the young witch became very aware of her own nakedness and blushed.</p>
<p>"Hermione...," she heard a whisper from Ron, "am I getting this right...? We are to serve these brutes? Crawl before them in the dust?"</p>
<p>She swallowed. "If only that was it, Ron ... what I see in the eyes of some Death Eaters there, frightens me much more ..."</p>
<p>Though she was hardly able to look him in the eye, Hermione could sense the unspoken question showing up in Ron's face. "Well, what do you think those old sods are going to do to women? Or maybe even men..."</p>
<p>A choking sound showed her that Ron now also understood what she feared. Without her wand and as slaves who were no more than dirt, there was no way to protect oneself against any kind of crazy fantasy. And whether the Death Eaters' disgust with Mudbloods was big enough to make them shy away from rape, she dared to doubt. Hermione did not know whether, in view of that future, she might have preferred death after all.</p>
<p>"Severus, my faithful servant,” Voldemort's voice resounded again, “come to my side. You are my most loyal subject, though I have long doubted you. Your actions over the past few days have proven that you stand by me, and for that, you shall be rewarded. You shall be the first to choose a slave!"</p>
<p>Unmoved, Snape stepped forward and positioned himself so that he could see as many prisoners as possible. A nausea spread in Hermione at the thought that one of them would fall into the hands of this cruel, lying man. Did he intend to take a former student as a slave and satisfy his perverted thoughts of her? The trembling, which she had already felt before, became stronger.</p>
<p>"Thank you, my Lord. The choice is vast and I intend to use the advantage of first choice in my favour. As I find Mudbloods repulsive, I choose a pureblood witch whose mind is so clouded that she has allied herself with the enemy. I think I can also say that she was especially important to the departed Potter, which will add to my enjoyment," said Snape. Although his voice expressed contempt and scorn, his face remained untouched. Hermione, on the other hand, instantly understood his intentions.</p>
<p>"I choose Ginny Weasley."</p>
<p>"No!" The angry voice of Ron sounded through the hall again. "You won’t dare lay your filthy fingers on my sister!"</p>
<p>"No?" asked the former teacher amused, "and who's to stop me - you, little Weasley?"</p>
<p>Laughter spread and even the Dark Lord showed an open grin. The words of his dearest servant pleased him. "Very well, Severus. Your choice is both excellent and understandable. Ginny Weasley shall be yours. Enjoy."</p>
<p>"Ginny... oh, God," Hermione sobbed. She could understand Ron's feelings - first he lost his best friend and now he had to watch his younger sister, naked and helpless as she was, being sent to the hated teacher and greatest traitor. Ginny, on the other hand, seemed calm, but Hermione immediately recognized what was really going on inside her: She had lost her great love. No matter what else might happen to her, nothing could be more painful for her than this loss. At least, Hermione hoped that Snape knew no cruelty that would eclipse the death of Harry.</p>
<p>"And now, Severus, tell me who is next to announce his choice!"</p>
<p>Just for a moment the Potions Master pondered, then he had decided. "Lucius Malfoy. Though he has not always acted honourably, we should thank him for always making his estate available for meetings."</p>
<p>Lord Voldemort nodded his agreement and gestured for the elder Malfoy to come forward. "Come here, Lucius. Severus has spoken true. Make your choice now - make it for your whole family, for I will not allow you to have more than one slave!"</p>
<p>Snape grabbed Ginny by the hair and pulled her aside so Lucius Malfoy could take his place. Unlike Snape, the blond wizard seemed to be undecided as to who he should take as slave. Seeking advice, he looked at Snape, but the latter raised only one eyebrow and looked back sternly. Hermione could not figure out what to make of this interaction, but obviously Lucius had drawn some clue from this gesture, for suddenly he seemed determined.</p>
<p>"First, I would like to thank you, my Lord. I know that I have disappointed you, so I am honoured that you now treat me so preferentially," he began his speech, "I will do the same to my old friend Severus. I also choose a student who was close to Harry Potter. I even go so far as to say that without her we would have triumphed over Potter long ago. And as great as my disgust for Mudbloods is, the idea of having them in my power day in, day out gives me great pleasure. And I'm sure my son Draco will also appreciate teaching this ever-annoying girl a lesson or two. My choice is Hermione Granger!"</p>
<p>She had known. From the very first words that old Malfoy had uttered, she had realised that he would choose her. It was only logical - the two most important people in Harry's life fell into the Dark Lord's left and right hands. Hermione sensed the magical bonds loosening from her, but she was determined not to fall into the clutches of Lucius Malfoy without contradiction.</p>
<p>"Granger, come here. Say hello to your new master," Lord Voldemort commanded. </p>
<p>She shook her head. She would never acknowledge Lucius Malfoy - or his son - as her master. She took a deep breath and turned to Ron who stood beside her, speechless and petrified.</p>
<p>"Ron," she whispered, "never give up. We'll get through this somehow and get back together again," she told him in a low but firm voice. Then she kissed him with all the passion she could muster. It was the first kiss between them, and Hermione feared it would be the last one as well. She spent every second before she would be pulled away from Ron kissing him, but the moment was far too short. She already felt a pair of strong hands on her shoulders, felt the strong figure of old Malfoy pulling her along.</p>
<p>Grimly she looked back at Ron, who in turn kept eye contact with her. His eyes were veiled with tears, but underneath, Hermione discovered new courage and determination. They would both fight for what Harry had started, they would both find a way to drive the darkness out of the world. Though their paths diverged for the time being.</p>
<p>"Touching, Mudblood," Lucius Malfoy said to her, "but it won't help you. Don't think you'll ever see that redheaded oaf again! You're mine now - and I look forward to it very much! You'll never see your friends again!"</p>
<p>Hermione could not suppress a tremor, but she tried not to be discouraged. There was always hope.</p>
<p>"Never say never," she whispered determinedly and looked her slave master defiantly in the face. </p>
<p>His answer consisted of a slap, which swept her to the ground. At the edge of her consciousness, Hermione could still see Voldemort now giving one Death Eater after another the choice of taking a slave. Everyone tried to get the youngest possible female slaves, but the her attention faded and she was only too happy to surrender to the comforting blackness of unconsciousness.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Adjusting to a new life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"This is how Harry must have felt during the first few years of his life," Hermione said softly to herself. She had already spent a week with the Malfoys at the mansion. A week she spent in a tiny room under the stairs on the second floor. Hardly more than a mattress and a tiny lamp fitted into the little cubbyhole, but at least she could stand comfortably upright in it.</p><p>"Harry..."</p><p>The thought of her best friend made Hermione sink into herself. Harry was dead. She still could not understand or grasp the thought. Although it had already been a week and the hard daily life with the Malfoy family reminded her of her situation every second, her mind refused to accept the death of her friend.</p><p>A soft ringing made her prick up her ears - the house elves from the kitchen gave her a signal. She had about five minutes left to appear in the kitchen and help prepare breakfast. She quickly got dressed. She was lucky that she was allowed to wear clothes, she was aware of that. The dress she was wearing was pitch black and hugged her body tightly. Since it was made of a stretchy material, she could still move comfortably in it. Under other circumstances she would have liked the garment, but together with the fact that she was not allowed to wear underpants and always had to wear a shaping bra, she was only too aware that the dress was meant to serve one purpose above all else: to be alluring.</p><p>She had noticed the looks Draco had given her. The dress obviously fulfilled its purpose, at least with the younger Malfoy. And yet he had never touched her. Hermione was happy about it, but she was worried at the same time. Was his disgust for Mudbloods so great that he would not give in to his own physical desires? She sighed. If that was the reason, she was glad. Far worse possibilities kept her awake at night.</p><p>Quickly she tied on her little blossom-white apron. Through a hidden door, she then entered the narrow corridors that led to the kitchen within the walls of the manor. Just like in old Muggle castles and villas, this house was equipped with special corridors that allowed the servants to pass unnoticed from room to room. Hermione did not see the necessity for this - apart from her, only house elves worked here, who could get from place to place in a much more comfortable way. But who knew what the builders had in mind at the time.</p><p>"Good morning, miss!" the house elves in the kitchen greeted her. Even though she as a slave was reduced to their level, it was impossible for a house elf not to recognize a human as master. And so at least the industrious little helpers in the kitchen still treated Hermione with respect. She in turn showed them as much affection and warmth as she could under the circumstances.</p><p>"Today is Sunday! Today the whole family is eating together! We have a lot to prepare," explained the house elf who was responsible for the organisation in the kitchen, "please wash the fruit over there!”</p><p>"Gladly, Twinkle," Hermione replied. She pushed up the tight sleeves of her dress, tied her hair together and threw herself into work. As long as she had something to do here in the kitchen, she could forget reality. Washing fruit and working with house elves was by far preferable to all the other horror scenarios she had imagined on her first night at Malfoy Manor.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>"Would you like some more coffee, Master?"</p><p>Attentive and concentrated, Hermione stood next to the family breakfast table and tried to anticipate the wishes of her masters at all times. She had quickly learned that disobedience and inattention were punished with beatings and food deprivation. As much as she wanted to rebel against her slave status, her survival instinct had finally taken over and she had given in.</p><p>"Yes, pour!" was Malfoy's terse response.</p><p>Carefully, Hermione poured the coffee and then retired immediately. Lucius Malfoy paid no attention to her at all and she was happy about that. As long as it did not occur to him to terrorize her, she was safe.</p><p>"Lucius," his wife complained, "why is she wearing that awful dress?"</p><p>Sighing, the Lord of the house lowered his newspaper and looked at his wife. "We have all deliberated together and the majority of the Death Eaters have found that women should wear exactly the same dress. I don't care, but I will not oppose the Dark Lord's will.</p><p>"Hmm," Narcissa went on. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed over Hermione's body.</p><p>Suddenly, the young witch came to a most frightening realisation. Narcissa Malfoy saw a threat in her. The dress emphasized the femininity of the wearer and let her appear in the best light, it was created to attract the attention of the men. Of course, a wife did not like that. Hermione hoped Narcissa would not pursue the subject. After all, Lucius Malfoy had not once in the whole week shown any interest in her body. So there was no reason for jealousy.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>Icy cold water poured over Hermine. There was no way to get a grip on the tiled floor of the kitchen, so she slipped and violently hit the edge of the table.</p><p>"Carefull, clumsy thing!" Narcissa Malfoy sneered at her. Eyes shining with hatred, she looked down at the younger woman, who lay in a large puddle of water, holding her head. "Don't you dare bump into me like that again. Now, you get this out of here right now, or do I have to make you?"</p><p>Without waiting for an answer, the older woman turned around and marched out of the kitchen. Shakily, Hermione straightened up. Narcissa Malfoy had rammed her on purpose as she was just coming back into the kitchen with a large bucket of cold water from the backyard. Her head ached and she could feel a large lump forming just above her right ear.</p><p>Her dress was soaked and the cold wind blowing in through the open kitchen door from the courtyard made Hermione tremble again. She had to dry herself, otherwise she would catch her death - but she had no change of clothes. Carefully, she looked around. The house elves were busy cleaning the house at this time, she was alone in the kitchen doing the dishes. Narcissa Malfoy would not come down again so quickly and the two men in the house had never shown themselves in the kitchen before.</p><p>Moaning, Hermione took off her dress and bra and hung them over the fire to dry. Swaying and with ascending nausea, she first dried her wet body with one of the towels usually used for the dishes and then set about mopping the floor. The cool wind that kept blowing in made her feel her nakedness clearly, but it would have been even worse in a wet dress. She prayed that no one would come into the kitchen at this particular time.</p><p>"You're begging for it, Mudblood!"</p><p>Startled, Hermione turned her head to the door leading from the kitchen up to the Malfoys' living quarters. With a dirty grin, Draco Malfoy leaned there and stared at her uninhibitedly.</p><p>Hermione quickly wanted to stand up, her position on all fours on the floor, her back - and above all her bare bottom - turned towards Malfoy, she did not feel comfortable.</p><p>"Don't move," he ordered immediately.</p><p>Hermione's breathing accelerated, but she did not dare to change her position. She was only too aware that he had a clear view of everything a man could find interesting about a female body. She closed her eyes and hoped against her better judgment that Malfoy would just walk again.</p><p>"It seems to me," Draco whispered from right behind her, "my mother is not happy you're here."</p><p>He crouched down, bent over and grabbed her hair.</p><p>"How come my mother suddenly has something against slaves? She loves every other house-elf she can boss around!"</p><p>He tore at her thick curly mane. A cry of pain escaped her as she was hurled violently backwards against his chest.</p><p>"Is it possible you're trying to seduce my father?" Draco hissed dangerously softly in her ear. The hand that was once in her hair reached for her throat and squeezed. His other hand reached her breast. "Answer me!"</p><p>Hermione struggled desperately for air, but Malfoy's grip was too tight, he cut off her breathing. She wriggled in his grasp and struck the hand that threatened her life.</p><p>"Oh, you can't talk. How stupid of me," Malfoy said with a soft laugh and loosened his grip. For a brief moment, his other hand massaged Hermione's right breast, then he pushed the defenceless witch away and stood up.</p><p>Panting contemptuously, he looked down at Hermione, who gasped for breath and trembled all over her body. "Pathetic. Don't think you could ever interest my father in the slightest."</p><p>No sooner had Draco disappeared than Hermione let her tears run free. She still felt his cold hand on her bosom and his firm grip on her neck. Images of what he could have done to her flooded her mind and left her drowning in fear and shame.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A high-value commodity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I am expecting guests tonight," Lucius Malfoy opened the conversation during lunch. </p><p>His wife and son looked up with excitement, for it was quite rare for the Lord of Malfoy Mansion to invite guests to his home.</p><p>"Severus Snape will visit, and probably several other Death Eaters. We will be discussing further strategy, as the Dark Lord is currently in Russia to gather followers and prepare for the coup d'état," he explained, "so it will not be a big party, just a small gathering. I expect you to leave us our privacy and not disturb it," he added with a stern look.</p><p>Outraged, Narcissa gasped. "You don't trust us, do you?"</p><p>Lucius considered them with a scornful look and devoted himself again to the morning paper. Draco, too, clearly showed his anger at his father's condescending behaviour. Instead of waiting for him to declare the end of the meal as usual, he got up without permission and went to the door.</p><p>"Where do you think you're going, Draco?" his father's voice whizzed across the room.</p><p>"To my room. Obviously, my presence is not pleasing you, nor is Mother's. I concluded that it would be better if I left you alone," the son replied calmly and left the room for good. Mrs Malfoy now also got up and left her husband alone at the table.</p><p>Only Hermione was now still in the same room and she was very uncomfortable in her own skin. In the past month she had learned that both mother and son saw in her a welcome opportunity to reduce aggression. Several times she found herself beaten and humiliated on the floor of the kitchen and it was always the house elves who found her and helped her.</p><p>"Mudblood!" Her master now demanded to see Hermione. Hesitantly, she stepped forward.</p><p>"You will be of service to my company tonight. You will serve food and drinks and be available in any other way they wish," he explained, "no matter what the wish is, you will grant it, understand?"</p><p>Hermione nodded, but panic spread inside. The fact that Lucius Malfoy had not yet made sexual use of her and Draco had also left it at implications, did not mean that other Death Eaters would be equally reserved. The thought of the things she was about to endure made her sick. She remembered all too well the lascivious glances that most black-cloaked figures had cast over the naked bodies of the women at Voldemort's victory celebration.</p><p>There was nothing she could do about it. Her own impotence made Hermione furious. She knew then what disaster was in store, but there was nothing she could do but wait and let it happen.</p><p>"You will not embarrass me tonight by throwing up at my guests' feet," Lucius said to her. </p><p>She must have choked involuntarily when she thought about the evening - and he must have heard that. But no matter how hard she tried, she did not succeed in building a calm facade. Her face was pale and she trembled. This also did not escape the elderly Malfoy. He sighed.</p><p>"Come here."</p><p>Shaky and nervous, Hermione stepped closer to him. Lucius pushed his chair back and pulled the young witch onto his lap. A gasp escaped her and panic rendered her immobile. Like his son, he grabbed her throat and pulled her towards him until her back was pressed against his chest. Hermione didn't dare to move, the hand on her neck reminding her too much of her experiences with Draco.</p><p>Slowly, the Death Eater's other hand slid down her thigh and pushed her legs apart. Unwillingly she tried to close her thighs again, but instantly the pressure on her throat became tighter. Hermione whimpered. She couldn't breathe anymore, but opening her legs was out of the question as well. Desperately she tried to pull Lucius' hand from her neck, but the man was much too strong for her.</p><p>"Stop struggling or I will have to hurt you," the blond Death Eater hissed into her ear and squeezed even harder. </p><p>Frightened, Hermione gave up her resistance and opened her legs a little. Immediately, the grip on her neck loosened. She could breathe again and sucked the air in greedily. At the same time, she felt the wizard’s fingers slip deeper between her legs. No fabric could protect her, for she was still not allowed to wear any underwear other than a bra.</p><p>Without paying attention to the panic of the young witch, Malfoy pushed first one, then two fingers deep into her. Hermione hissed. The pain was already bad, but the shame and her own helplessness were far more terrifying. She clearly felt that Malfoy was not excited to touch her like that - no hardness pressed itself against her from below and his heartbeat had not accelerated either. Her analytical mind told her that it was all about dominance and power and not about lust or desire.</p><p>The deeper the two fingers penetrated her the greater the pain became. Hermione turned and tried to flee from the cold hand, but the Death Eater knew no mercy. No sooner did he feel her movement than his fingers closed tighter around her neck again. Horror, shame and pain made her tense and she felt how her inner muscles, which were violently opened by two fingers, tightened. She inflicted pain on herself with this instinctive reaction, but she could not change it. Tears were streaming down her face.</p><p>"You're still a virgin, Granger?" he asked her suddenly and pulled his fingers out.</p><p>Hermione nodded in shame. Tears were still running down her cheeks, the pain hadn't gone away, but relief at the torture being over, at least for the moment, spread.</p><p>"If I'd known that...," Lucius Malfoy murmured. </p><p>She looked up at him in surprise - and met an indefinable expression on his face. Something new lay there in his gaze, something that clearly had nothing to do with hate, and yet it frightened her.</p><p>For a brief moment, the two stared at each other. Then Malfoy lowered his eyes. It seemed as if he was inwardly debating with himself, but this silent dispute did not last long. "My orders still stand. You will be responsible for food and drink tonight. But under no circumstances you are allowed to let anything more happen, do you understand? I know you Mudbloods like to throw yourselves at any Pureblood you can get, but you're not going to lose your virginity without my permission, do I make myself clear?"</p><p>The sudden change of heart only confused Hermione more, but for the moment she was only too happy that her master did not require her to have sex with another Death Eater. Almost gratefully, she nodded and then withdrew with Malfoy's permission.</p><p>"Why the sudden kindness, Father?" </p><p>The cool words came from the door leading from the dining room to the living room. Draco stepped through and leaned into the doorway. "Do you suddenly pity this worthless Mudblood?"</p><p>But his father did not do him the favour of reacting to his provocation. Cool and untouched, he replied, "It is obvious that you are not very familiar with commercial sex, my son. Otherwise you would know that virginity is a high-value commodity for which one can charge an even higher price. The fact that Granger is still innocent surprises me - but it benefits me too. Since I never intended to satisfy myself on her anyway, I can now see to investing her first time profitably. Some other Death Eater will be able to offer me something valuable."</p><p>The older man glanced briefly at the younger before adding, "Of course, this also means that sex is forbidden for you, you understand that, don't you, Draco?"</p><p>The son pressed his lips together. As if he had the slightest interest in Granger. Another question was more important to him. "Does this mean I'm not allowed to have any more fun with her?"</p><p>A short laugh rang out, but immediately Lucius Malfoy became serious again. "No, that is not what I meant. You are free to do whatever you like with her - as long as her virginity remains untouched and she is not deformed. At the moment, her young body and silly face can make enough of an impression to make wizards forget her bloodline. I will not risk it!"</p><p>Grinning, Draco nodded. Perhaps his father, who had been acting weirder and weirder the longer the war against Potter had gone on, was still the same old man he used to know. Having watched him toy with Granger made Draco worry for a moment that perhaps his father had grown soft. He was relieved the opposite was the case. Granger should suffer just like Draco himself suffered. The answer was more than satisfactory and so the young wizard left his father alone in the breakfast room for good.</p><p>Lucius Malfoy on the other hand devoted himself to his newspaper again and tried to drive the thoughts of an innocent, naked, naive Hermione Granger out of his mind.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Bring more wine</h2></a>
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    <p>Hermione stood in the corner of the small salon and tried to not let her anxiety and nervousness show. In front of her sat Severus Snape, Antonin Dolohov, Fenrir Greyback, Walden Macnair and of course the host Lucius Malfoy. The five Death Eaters seemed to be engrossed in conversation, but Hermione did not miss how especially the eyes of Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf, kept wandering over to her. She hoped that Malfoy's order that she should not engage in any sexual interactions meant that he would hold back his colleagues.</p><p>Sighing, the young witch looked down on herself. The black, figure-hugging and extremely tight dress did not fit as well as a week ago. Within this short time, she had already lost so much weight that she no longer wanted to see her own reflection. She didn't lack food too often, but fear had become her constant companion - and obviously her body couldn't cope with it.</p><p>On the other hand, she thought, this had the advantage that she no longer seemed so attractive to the male sex. Inwardly she almost laughed. She remembered her school days, her love for Ron - and how she had suffered since fourth year from not being perceived as a woman. At that time, she would never have dreamed that there would be moments when she wished she wasn't a woman - and especially not an even mildly attractive one.</p><p>"Mudblood," the voice of her Master tore her from her thoughts, "the wine is all gone. Go and get some more!"</p><p>With a small nod of her head she turned around, only too happy to get a chance to escape the sinister group. The way to the kitchen and back would take about five minutes altogether and she planned to use each one of them to calm herself down and to focus her mind on the current dangers.</p><p>She had not taken six steps before a heavy hand grabbed her shoulder. Startled, she spun around and looked into the expressionless face of Severus Snape.</p><p>"Is there anything I can do for you, sir?" Hermione asked, trying not to make her voice sound aggressive or ironic. </p><p>She apparently did not succeed, because the answer of her former teacher did not sound pleased. "Obviously you have not yet learned the proper manners here, Miss Granger."</p><p>A shiver ran down her spine, but she pulled herself together. She would show Snape no fear, she would not crawl to the ground in front of this traitor.</p><p>"I am to fetch wine, so if you have no wish ...," she stated, again trying to be polite. </p><p>But again, she did not seem to have found the right tone. The black-haired wizard grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her violently against the hard wall of the corridor.</p><p>Hermione swallowed. As she looked up carefully, she encountered the dark eyes of her former Potions professor, but she could not interpret his gaze. For seconds, they stared at each other, his hands resting firmly on her shoulders, and she felt the strength in his arms. Memories of the morning's events popped into Hermione's mind. How Lucius Malfoy finally forced her into submission with pure strength. Ashamed and frightened, she lowered her eyes as if she could prevent Snape from reading her thoughts.</p><p>"Are they treating you well here, Miss Granger?" Snape suddenly asked. </p><p>She flinched. What was the point of that question? Was Severus Snape trying to find out if Lucius Malfoy was treating his slave girl well, and passing this on to Lord Voldemort? He would certainly not be pleased and would punish Malfoy - who in turn would take his anger out on her. And why should she lie, as she was not treated well here. </p><p>On the other hand, she could imagine that other slaves were even worse off. After all, she was still alive, hadn't suffered any serious sexual assaults, and was rarely beaten. </p><p>All of a sudden, she felt cool fingers grabbing her chin. Severus Snape let go of her one shoulder and now raised her head with gentle force so that he could look into her eyes.</p><p>"Is the question so difficult, Miss Granger? Are you being treated well here, yes or no?" he repeated his question. </p><p>He still seemed unfazed and expressionless, but something did not fit the image of the evil Death Eater. Hermione thought hard about what was wrong - and then it finally clicked.</p><p>"Why do you call me Miss Granger?” she wondered aloud before she could stop herself. </p><p>Surprised at her own courage, Hermione slapped a hand over her mouth, but Snape didn't seem upset. His tone of voice sounded calm when he answered, "It's impolite to answer a question with a counter-question. But I gather from your reaction and appearance that you are at least physically healthy."</p><p>Hermione was speechless. Was it possible that this wizard of all people inquired about her state simply out of concern? But that didn't fit either - if he had been interested in her physical well-being, she probably wouldn't have been here in the first place. Something else had to be behind it and she swore not to be taken in by his suddenly so friendly manner. Determined, she pressed her lips together and looked up to him silently.</p><p>The hand that had held her chin a moment ago was now pressed against the wall, and the other hand also let go of her. For a brief moment Severus Snape looked down at his former student, then shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk.</p><p>Hermione remembered her mission - she had been sent to fetch wine and surely Malfoy was waiting for her impatiently. Just as she was about to set off as well, her eyes fell on the end of the corridor. There Draco Malfoy leaned calmly. Hermione cursed inside - her encounters alone with the younger Malfoy never ended well.</p><p>"Well, well. Just as I thought, the mudblood bitch is making a pass at everyone!"</p><p>Hermione shook her head. She couldn’t afford to take any longer, but the way to the kitchen led past the man who had just given her extremely threatening looks.</p><p>"You know, mudblood," Draco started as he pushed himself off the wall and came towards her, "my father made it very clear to me that I wasn't allowed to touch you. That's too bad..."</p><p>His gaze grew even colder and Hermione's heart contracted. This Malfoy apparently had a tremendous hatred for her and wanted to express it at every available opportunity. Would the father's words be enough to protect her from him?</p><p>"But, you know, come to think of it, he only forbade me to fuck you. And to hit you too obviously. I don't know about you, but despite these limits, I can think of a hundred things I could do to you.”</p><p>The words of Lucius Malfoy would not suffice. If her situation hadn't been so serious, Hermione would have loved to laugh - how did she get the idea of hoping for protection from him? She was alone here, the only young woman among men, the only mudblood among Death Eaters, the only one without a wand against powerful wizards practicing the Dark Arts.</p><p>"I can see the fear in your eyes, Granger. I like that," whispered Draco Malfoy into her ear. </p><p>Frozen, Hermione stood there. Neither the older Malfoy nor Severus Snape could frighten her as much as her former classmate - and yet he had done nothing but mumble soft, nasty words. But that was exactly the problem: He played with her fear, he knew her better than the other two men. He played a mind game with her.</p><p>"Leave me alone! Your father wants me to fetch some wine, and if he finds out that you've stopped me...," Hermione hissed, but she herself noticed that she sounded more like a frightened cat than the brave lioness she had been when she was at school.</p><p>"How dare you address me like that?" Draco hissed, "I may not be my father, but you owe me as much respect as you do him! Don't think you can talk to him about me, you worthless little mudblood!"</p><p>With these words, he slapped Hermione, causing her to stagger back against the wall. For the second time within minutes she found herself pressed against the hard stone, but this time her situation seemed much more threatening.</p><p>"You're brave to threaten me. But perhaps you are just stupid. If I were you, I wouldn't just close my eyes at night and wander off into dreamland." Draco Malfoy breathed into her ear. His voice was barely audible, but his words did not miss their effect. Hermione's knees wobbled and she felt an icy cold knot forming in her stomach.</p><p>"And while we're on the subject... there is one thing that interests me," Malfoy added, seemingly lost in thought. </p><p>Roughly, he pushed Hermione's arms above her head and grabbed both wrists with his left hand. Before she could grasp what he was about to do, his right hand already disappeared between her thighs. Two fingers penetrated her violently and recklessly. A tortured gasping escaped Hermione, while she helplessly had to allow violence to be done to her again in this terrible way.</p><p>"Who would have thought," Draco finally said, "You seem to not be used to the touch of a man. Amazing. The Weasel and Blessed Potter are bigger wimps than I imagined! Or perhaps they didn’t want to touch an ugly shrew like you."</p><p>A third finger joined the other two and drove tears into Hermione's eyes. He didn’t push too deep, but she still felt a burning sensation between her legs and the shame of being touched down there against her will.</p><p>"Please," she sobbed, but the pain clouded her thoughts and she could not finish her sentence.</p><p>"What, mudblood - do you like it? Do you want more?" Draco mocked her. Slowly, he circled his fingers in the entrance area, pulling them back a little bit at a time, only to push hard again. He laughed. "You can't imagine how much fun this is for me. But I want to be a good son and listen to my father."</p><p>With these words he pulled his hand back between her thighs, looked at her briefly and then let go of Hermione's wrists. </p><p>Sobbing, she fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. She didn't want to show any weakness. She didn't want to look helpless in front of this guy, she didn't want to give him any point of attack. And yet he could so easily scare her, so easily do violence to her. </p><p>For a moment, Hermione didn't know who she hated more - Draco Malfoy or herself. But his voice took away her decision. "Remember to bring the wine to my father, mudblood. Move your lazy arse!"</p><p>She hated him. She clearly hated this blond pretty boy who played on her self-esteem.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The softness of her skin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"What took you so long, Mudblood?" </p><p>Hermione was immediately scolded on her return. She had already reckoned that Lucius Malfoy would not be pleased that it took her much longer than usual to get back here. </p><p>"Pardon me, Master, I encountered with Severus Snape outside. I had to quickly assist him, which delayed my task," she explained as humbly as she could. Uncertainly her gaze flickered to the black-haired man, but he did not appear to confirm or deny her statement. </p><p>Lucius Malfoy though did not seem to be interested in the subject, as with a bossy nod he ordered her to fill the glasses again.</p><p>She hastily complied with the order. As quickly as she could, Hermione filled the five wine glasses. Just as she was bending down to Macnair, she felt a big, rough hand on her bottom. She suppressed a tremor and tried hard not to spill the wine. She knew who was sitting behind her, she knew whose hand was kneading her cheeks. Quickly she straightened up again and wanted to go back to her place.</p><p>"Jesus, Granger. Can't you see Fenrir wants your company? Don't just turn away from him, silly thing!" her master shouted at her. </p><p>She stared at Lucius Malfoy in disbelief - hadn't he told her not to have sex with anyone? Uncertain, she looked back and forth between him and the werewolf.</p><p>"Come to me, fair maiden. I know your owner's rules and I will not break them. But a little company never hurt anyone. Come, I won't eat you up!" Greyback whispered, his eyes gleaming dangerously. </p><p>The gracious tone of voice only made Hermione even more fearful; she could clearly sense that there was something else lurking. And in addition, she was disgusted by the man's appearance and his stench.</p><p>"Do as you are ordered," Malfoy ordered in a stern, angry voice. </p><p>She instinctively understood where his anger came from. Clearly, he couldn't believe his slave dared to expose him like that in front of his colleagues. She noticed the grin of Macnair and Dolohov, even though they tried hard to hide it. Only Snape seemed untouched by it all.</p><p>Hermione had a dry lump in her throat as she walked towards the armchair where Greyback was sitting. Hesitantly, she looked down at him, but the werewolf knew exactly what he wanted. With a powerful jerk on her arm, he dropped the fragile woman into his lap and closed both arms around her waist.</p><p>"Hmm, that feels good," he murmured, only to say louder to Malfoy, "You were really lucky with this girl. She smells so good. Her body feels so warm. I've only ever had a stupid first-year girl."</p><p>"Come on, Fenrir," Dolohov teased him, "everyone knows that young girls are best. Or have you already broken your toy?"</p><p>Polyphonic laughter sounded, which sent a shiver down Hermione's spine. The idea of such a young girl in the hands of this bloodthirsty werewolf ... she didn't want to think about it.</p><p>"No, she's still alive. I'm having far too much fun with her. You know, it's really amazing with these young things. No matter how many times you fuck them, they're still so wonderfully tight. And her skin is so soft... so soft..."</p><p>The words of the unwashed man were lost as he obviously hung on to his thoughts and memories of his slave. </p><p>"I mustn't let these horrid images get to me, I mustn't let any of this get to me," Hermione admonished herself silently, but she knew that her imagination would show her ever new images of the werewolf and his young prey in the coming nights. How had this world suddenly become so completely black and hopeless? Unintentionally, a sobbing escaped her throat.</p><p>"Now, now, dear," Greyback cooed, "why cry? Come, let's see if we can't make you a little more comfortable!"</p><p>With these words the werewolf let go of her waist and began to explore her body. While the other men turned back to their conversation, he devoted himself entirely to her body. Slowly his hands moved down her thighs, then he grabbed her firmly and straightened her. She sat there, leg spread, her buttocks just above his hard cock, her back pressed against his chest, and looked down on herself in disbelief.</p><p>The man's rough hands pushed her dress higher and higher, first exposing her naked waist, then her belly, and then lifting it over her breasts. She could feel the werewolf rubbing against her with barely perceptible movements of his hips, increasing his own excitement more and more. One hand now grabbed her breast, the other clawed into the flesh of her thighs.</p><p>"Well?" he groaned, "Do you like that better?"</p><p>Nausea rose in Hermione. This monster didn't seriously expect her to enjoy that, did he? Instead of an answer, she pressed her lips together so as not to sob out loud. The lump in her throat grew bigger and bigger and she felt her stomach getting ice-cold. </p><p>"Come on, little one," whispered the werewolf, "give me a little moan. Every woman enjoys being touched like that!"</p><p>Disgusted, Hermione shook her head. She wanted to leave. She wanted to be alone, away from these men, away from all men. </p><p>A gasping sound escaped her, when suddenly she felt his teeth at her neck. Instinctively, she wanted to lean away, but the man was faster. The hand that had just groped her breast reached into her hair, holding her head and neck where he wanted it. While his tongue, lips, and teeth moved across her neck and throat, his other hand found its way between her legs. Without penetrating, he stroked her folds, obviously eager to get a reaction from her.</p><p>The movements of his hip also became more erratic. He pressed himself hard against her, rubbing against her. An aroused groan escaped him. He let go of her throat, his hand released her hair and instead grabbed her slightly protruding hip bone. Now it was the other hand that pushed up her bra and kneaded her bare breasts. He rubbed himself against her more and more violently, the hand on her hip pressing Hermione harder and harder against him, making her bottom circle back and forth a little.</p><p>"Ah, I like you so much," the werewolf moaned. His movements became more jerky, the hand on her breast had stopped moving, too strong was his concentration on her bottom.</p><p>"Fuck!" he gasped, "Lucius!"</p><p>With a raised eyebrow, Malfoy turned to his guest. Out of the corners of his eyes he watched the werewolf arouse himself more and more over the body of the mudblood.</p><p>"Yes, Fenrir?" he asked, his tone betraying amusement.</p><p>Without interrupting his rubbing movement, the werewolf looked at the owner of the slave girl in his lap. "How much did you say you wanted for her first time?"</p><p>Suddenly, the room became dead silent. The other three Death Eaters, who previously pretended not to be interested in what was happening next to them, turned their heads to the werewolf and the more naked than covered woman.</p><p>"No!" Hermione yelled in her mind, "not him! Please, not him!" </p><p>But she knew already that her mute pleading was useless. Lucius Malfoy had forbidden her to have sex because he wanted to sell her first time at a high price - and if the werewolf paid, he would give it away. The nausea, which had been manifest before, grew worse. Fear, like Hermione had never felt before, crept up inside her. </p><p>The hard cock under her, the cramped hand on her breast, the excited moans next to her ear - suddenly she became aware of her situation. It was as if she woke up from a dream. Panic clasped her heart. </p><p>Harry was dead. </p><p>Ron was a slave like her. </p><p>And these men had all the power in the world over her. She could no longer control what happened to her body. She was humiliated by the sheer power of it. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of ice-cold water over her and then thrown her into a stinking cesspool where she would now drown.</p><p>In her state of shock, she had not noticed the brief discussion between the Death Eaters. While Dolohov and Macnair supported the werewolf in buying sex, Snape and Malfoy were rather disgusted.</p><p>"You really want to fuck a mudblood, Greyback?" Snape asked with a sceptical look.</p><p>"Yes, damn it!" the werewolf cried desperately, "she's so hot. I don't care what blood flows in her veins. I want her! Now!"</p><p>Moaning and panting he continued to rub against Hermine. Both hands had grabbed her hips by now, moving them in a rhythm with his pelvis. </p><p>Lucius Malfoy recognized the plight of his colleague. No matter what amount he now called, the werewolf would probably pay it - he was rich enough by now. It was his chance to get money to pay off old debts. And yet something inside him resisted the deal. The virginity of Hermione Granger - sold to a sleazy werewolf? After all, she wasn't just anyone. </p><p>Maybe he should sell her to someone else, someone of rank, for little money, and get a favour instead? He himself was still at the bottom of the barrel at the moment, for the Dark Lord had not yet completely forgiven him. Surely there were enough Death Eaters out there who would want to fuck Potter's famous girlfriend. Yes, it was clearly too soon for that.</p><p>Then again, she was a mudblood. Who knew if any Death Eaters would ever be interested in her again? Potter's girlfriend or not, the blood was repulsive to most he knew.</p><p>He looked at the two. He watched how the werewolf rubbed against his slave in desperate agitation, how his hands clung to her hips, how her breasts swayed a little with each jerk, how her head had fallen backwards, eyes closed, tears streaming down her face. He saw that she was pale, that she was trembling. The werewolf, on the other hand, had a reddened face, his breath was short, sweat covered his skin. Again, Malfoy's gaze wandered to where the man's covered cock met the woman's arse.</p><p>And suddenly he noticed how his trousers became very tight and registered that his own breathing accelerated.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Plans for the Future</h2></a>
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    <p>Lucius Malfoy changed his sitting position – under no circumstances did he want to show his colleagues that the intimate situation in the armchair next to him excited him. </p><p>Trying to appear as if he was just thinking about an amount to demand, he stared at the almost naked Hermione Granger. She looked absolutely frightened and at the same time incredibly erotic. He tried to reason with himself, concentrating on the fact that she was a Mudblood, but he couldn't deny his own arousal. The young female body was enough to make him forget the blood status. </p><p>More and more he was repulsed by the thought that Greyback, of all people, wanted to deflower his slave. The werewolf was very popular among the lower ranks of the Dark Lord’s army because he was cruel and shared his nasty jokes with others. But he was not appreciated in the leadership and Lucius knew that the Dark Lord tolerated this man, who was not even a real man and always stank miserably, only because he could use him. His slave girl was too valuable to give away to someone like him.</p><p>Hermione still had her eyes closed. Desperately, she tried not to sob out loud, but there was nothing she could do against her tears. There was no reason why the blond wizard shouldn't sell her, here and now. Maybe it was even better that way - once it was over, she no longer had to fear the inevitable. Maybe she would get used to it, maybe sooner rather than later...</p><p>No, no matter how hard she tried, Hermione couldn't convince herself that there was anything good about this situation. Just as she knew that her opinion didn't count, and that at the end of the evening she would probably be finally and completely humiliated. So much fear and helplessness held her captive that she hardly noticed the rubbing movements of the werewolf beneath her anymore.</p><p>"300 Galleons, here and now!"</p><p>Hermione opened her eyes and stared at her owner. 300 Galleons? That was a small fortune! Lucius Malfoy demanded that much for her virginity? Incapable of any reaction, she just stared, even her tears dried up in the shock.</p><p>Her surprise was reflected in the faces of everyone else present, especially Fenrir Greyback was speechless. His movements were frozen, only his hands still clinging tightly to Hermione's hips.</p><p>"300 Galleons? Are you crazy?" he asked incredulously, "I don't have that much here!"</p><p>"Then I'm sorry," Lucius replied, outwardly unmoved, "she is not just any Mudblood, but one of the most important pawns Dumbledore has set in the game against the Dark Lord. Though she is a Mudblood, she is of great value because of her position."</p><p>Dolohov and Macnair both began to nod slowly - the explanation was obvious and they seemed to admire the alert mind of their colleague. Only Severus Snape looked suspicious. Hermione wondered whether her former professor doubted that only rational calculation had guided Malfoy. She too noticed that her Master suddenly seemed a lot more flustered than he should be.</p><p>"Malfoy!" the werewolf moaned, "Are you deliberately trying to torture me?"</p><p>"No, Greyback, but I do not give up things of value lightly, even to colleagues."</p><p>"Fuck you!" Fenrir Greyback hurled at him and knocked Hermione from his lap. He left the meeting without a word. Shaking his head, the other four men looked on.</p><p>"He's half animal, after all. Can never really control his urges and then just lets his mind go down. Disgusting!" Macnair commented the event. Scornful laughter from Dolohov resounded and Lucius Malfoy also joined in.</p><p>Relief spread through Hermione. She could not believe she had been saved so narrowly; her mind was unable to grasp the whole thing. For a moment, the young witch gave in to her feelings, lying calmly on the soft carpet and simply enjoying the fact that she was no longer in concrete danger.</p><p>"What are you lying there so lazily," her master hissed at her the next moment, "get dressed properly again and pour more wine. And don't think that I won't punish you for driving away one of my guests! You should be at their service, not drive them away!"</p><p>Hermione opened her eyes to this injustice. She'd driven Greyback away, she'd done something wrong? She couldn't believe that any human could be so twisted as to blame her for this situation. On the other hand, she was aware that she had no rights, and that talking back would certainly not improve anything. </p><p>Anger and relief over what had happened fought in Hermione as she straightened her bra and pulled the dress down again. In the end, anger gained the upper hand, but the witch did not let go. Outwardly untouched, she picked up the wine bottle again and refilled the now empty wine glasses.</p><p>"Well, Severus, now that you have spent the last hour telling us in such detail what the Dark Lord is planning for the near future, it would be good to know how we are to implement it here," Dolohov resumed the conversation. Hermione stood in a corner of the room and pricked up her ears. Even if she couldn't do anything in her current situation, knowledge was still better than ignorance.</p><p>"I'd like to," Snape replied, "but unfortunately, the Dark Lord remained unclear on this point. He told me that he would personally see to it that the Continent would understand that he now ruled. And he entrusted us with the task of holding the fort here. Those were his words. Unfortunately, he did not say what he meant. And that is the whole purpose of our meeting here tonight."</p><p>"Great that we found out so early," commented Macnair and laughed dryly, "we're here so you can tell us that you can't tell us anything. Really, very good!"</p><p>A punishing look hit the Death Eater, a look that Hermione knew only too well from her school days - that's how Snape looked when he was not up for ridicule at all. Despite her plight, she was glad that at last neither she nor another student was the recipient of that look.</p><p>"Yes, that's what it's all about," Snape replied in an emphatically calm voice, "I had hoped to work with the four of you to develop a medium-term plan for how we would proceed during His Lordship's absence. But if that's too much for you, Macnair, you are welcome to join the werewolf and go!"</p><p>"Now, now," Malfoy intervened, "stop the quarrels. We should be honoured that the Dark Lord has allowed us so much freedom of action."</p><p>Macnair, who obviously meant to retort something, fell silent. Hermione wondered whether he was surprised by Malfoy’s interpretation of the orders. She wished she knew what Voldemort was up to and whether or not Snape was telling the truth. Did their Lord really leave them to rule the country while he had better things to do? Or did he simply abandon the group after victory?</p><p>While her gaze was firmly on the group, she noticed a small nod from Snape, as if he was thanking Malfoy for interrupting. Again, Hermione wondered what exactly was going on between the two. Were they plotting something else or was this just an innocent gesture between two colleagues that were troubled by the stupidity of their peers?</p><p>"Perhaps it is most sensible to write down general guiding principles of the Dark Lord and then consider what steps we need to take to reach these goals," Snape suggested. Affirmative nods and serious concentration were the answer.</p><p>"Dolohov, name me a goal that the Dark Lord has," Malfoy asked his colleague.</p><p>"Keep the wizards' blood pure!"</p><p>"Macnair?"</p><p>"Subjugate Muggle!"</p><p>"Severus?"</p><p>"Lead wizards and witches to ancient strength."</p><p>"I agree with all three goals and can't think of anything that would not fall under one of the three targets you mentioned," the blond wizard said thoughtfully. </p><p>"I also think it is these three points that can be considered the main targets," Snape joined him. </p><p>"Well, let's write that down, then. Now we have to think about how we want to fulfil the individual points. And above all: In what order."</p><p>"That's a good point, Malfoy," Macnair took up the conversation thread, "I don't think we're in a position to subdue the Muggle at this stage. First, we must make the wizarding community stronger again. To do this we need better education and we must exclude all Mudbloods. Only then will we be strong enough to face this mass of Muggles."</p><p>"I am afraid you are right," Dolohov agreed with him, "at the moment the Muggles outnumber us to such an extent that our present strength will hardly suffice. We must therefore remain in secret for the time being and regain our strength of old."</p><p>While Hermione watched Malfoy writing down the thoughts of his colleagues, she tried to hide her own reaction to all this. They were talking about these things as if it did not mean the death of thousands, and at the same time she was surprised by how constructive everyone was. </p><p>"Dear Sirs," Snape raised his voice, "at what point does blood count as contaminated?"</p><p>A moment of silence followed a brief confusion, while all those present thought about the question. Hermione also understood the intention of Snape's question: This was now apparently directly about who was to be considered for the procreation of pure offspring in the future. In other words: Which wizards would be allowed to have sex and children with which witches? Pale with rage, she stared at her former teacher. This invaded everyone's privacy. They wanted to bind relationships and feelings by rules. It was incomprehensible to Hermione how one could be so unemotional that one could think about such a question in cold blood.</p><p>"Mudbloods have impure blood," Malfoy was the first to begin, "and it should be obvious to all. But take Potter, for example, who was so beloved by everyone: Both parents were wizards, his father was pure-blooded, but his mother was a Mudblood. Is Harry Potter a pure-blooded wizard for you?"</p><p>"His mother's blood also flows in his veins - he is at least a quarter Muggle. I can't call that pureblood!" Macnair replied immediately.</p><p>"But his children would only be an eighth part Muggle. I think you could almost call that pure-blood," Dolohov mused.</p><p>"Are there any objections to these considerations?", Snape inquired. Everyone shook their heads briefly, then he continued, "So the rule is that at least two generations, parents and grandparents, must all have been wizards or witches to be considered pure-blooded.”</p><p>"Conversely, this means that only those wizards whose grandparents were already wizards may have descendants in the future with other pure-blooded wizards," Lucius Malfoy finally concluded the conversation, "I'll keep the point and later reformulate it into a law at the Ministry with the help of a legislation wizard.”</p><p>Hermione closed her eyes. She was surprised that the rules were that lenient. She would have expected everyone to demand that no Muggle should be present in the bloodline anywhere. But then again, that would exclude almost all wizard families except those of the Sacred 28. Perhaps the people present were all too aware that they themselves weren’t Purebloods in that strict sense of the word. Only Malfoy belonged to that exclusive group of actual Purebloods.</p><p>What surprised her even more about this whole conversation was that apparently, nobody had talked about these things before. While she watched the Death Eaters continue their strategic meeting, she realised that Voldemort was far from thorough. Did the people in his ranks actually know what his plans were? Did anybody know during the Battle of Hogwarts what they were fighting for? Except of course the obvious: defeating Harry and the Order of the Phoenix. Did he share his plans at all?</p><p>As Hermione watched Lucius Malfoy talk on, she missed that she herself was being watched. Severus Snape let his eyes wander to the scantily clad slave girl in the room. He could see how she was repulsed by the discussion that was taking place in front of her. Her face was pale, her hands clenched in fists and her whole body trembled slightly. Snape thought he understood what was going on inside her. Under this law, Granger, even if she was no longer a slave, would never be allowed to have children with Ron. But she was not the only one affected by this law, even though the men present were obviously not aware of it.</p><p>He himself, the half-blood prince, would never be allowed to produce magical offspring.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Irritating hatred</h2></a>
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    <p>She did not understand. Why had Malfoy not sold her to the werewolf? Did he really think he could sell her body more profitably? Even though she had once been the greatest threat to Voldemort, along with Ron and Harry, not so long ago, to be precise, now she was nothing more than a Mudblood. She had never been particularly attractive, and certainly not now - what Death Eater would pay for her?</p><p>Hermione turned over on her mattress and reflected on the evening. She knew she should be glad that apart from the incident with the werewolf nothing else had happened. And yet - what really unsettled her was what happened outside the room. What did Snape want to achieve with his conversation? Why did Malfoy hold such hatred towards her? Above all, how serious were his threats?</p><p>Suddenly, Hermione was wide awake. How could she have forgotten his threats? Could she dare to simply fall asleep? With a beating heart she listened into the darkness, but nothing could be heard.</p><p>"This won’t do," Hermione said softly to herself, "I cannot lie awake every night in fear of Draco Malfoy. I must stay healthy and strong if I am ever to risk escape!"</p><hr/><p> </p><p>"Empty words, as usual," she thought.</p><p>It had been almost two weeks since she saw anything of Draco Malfoy. In fact, she did not see a soul in that time, apart from the Lord of the house. Apparently, his wife and son decided to avoid the Mudblood slave. Not a single night had she been disturbed.</p><p>"Did you miss me, Mudblood?"</p><p>The voice that silkily and softly drifted from the kitchen door to Hermione's ear sent a cold shiver down her spine. She knew only too well who it belonged to.</p><p>"You should turn around when your master speaks to you," Malfoy continued. Almost teasingly, he added, "One is gone for two weeks and the slaves' behaviour begins to deteriorate.</p><p>With wide eyes, Hermione turned, "Gone?"</p><p>"Yes, gone. My mother and I took a little city tour on the mainland. Don't tell me you missed our absence."</p><p>The teasing, almost playful tone of Malfoy made Hermione deeply afraid. She felt panic creep into her faster than any sharpness in his voice could have done.</p><p>"Have you forgotten our last conversation, then?" he asked, as he approached her with a broad smile. Unable to react, Hermione stared at him with eyes wide with fear.</p><p>"Ahh, I see!" Draco said and his smile grew even wider, "you thought I'd forgotten my own words.</p><p>He stepped directly in front of her, grabbed her hair and violently ripped her head to one side. The smile was now exchanged for his usual hatred as he whispered almost inaudibly into her ear, "Believe me, I haven't."</p><hr/><p> </p><p>Where did that hatred come from? Hermione couldn't understand. Sure, he had already shown her hatred at school, but she had put that down to his contempt for Mudbloods and envy of her good grades. But now? She was a slave; she was where he thought she belonged. So why was there still this hatred, this expression, as if she was to blame for some personal misery of his?</p><p>He did not really hurt her before, but she was sure that his threats were not empty. She had been glad that Lucius Malfoy suddenly turned up in the kitchen, apparently looking for his son who was missing from the Sunday breakfast table. It was almost laughable that she felt safer here, next to the older Malfoy’s chair, than anywhere else in the house. In the last two weeks he had neither approached her sexually nor frightened her in any other way.</p><p>"Granger, my coffee!" the voice of the same Malfoy tore her from her thoughts.</p><p>Hermione scolded herself silently - if there was one thing Lucius Malfoy hated, it was an empty coffee cup at the breakfast table. She quickly grabbed the pot of milk, filled the cup with just a splash, and then poured the hot coffee into it. To her surprise, the Lord of the house gave her a smile, almost imperceptibly, but clearly recognizable to her.</p><p>His wife and son also noticed the smile, and when Lucius Malfoy then took a sip with relish, looking his wife straight in the eyes, her face darkened. Wordlessly, but with barely restrained anger in her eyes, Narcissa rose from the table and left the room.</p><p>"My wife never learned that I want the milk first and then the coffee," Malfoy commented, taking another sip.</p><p>"Yes, very nice, Father," Draco scoffed, "very nice how you use the Mudblood to shame your wife. You're so embarrassing."</p><p>"Draco," his father scolded him, "I will not allow you to speak to me in that tone of voice. You may join your mother and leave."</p><p>His hands clenched in fists and with a cold, murderous gleam in his eyes he stood up, gave Hermione a meaningful look and left the room as well.</p><p>"Ahh, peace at last," sighed Malfoy, "I hate this restlessness and bad mood in the early morning."</p><p>The family's brief quarrel lay heavy on Hermione's stomach, for she knew that the son and wife would blame her and take the anger out on her.</p><p>"Granger, be a dear, open the window. Here comes Bernadette with the Daily Prophet."</p><p>With a nod, she followed the order. As she walked to the window, Hermione wondered if Malfoy was aware that his courteous manner was getting her into trouble. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was doing it deliberately. Carefully, she opened the large, venerable window of the dining room and let in the magnificent, snow-white family owl. A soft cooing conveyed the thanks before the owl fluttered to its owner and with as much grace as an owl possessed, placed the newspaper on the table next to him.</p><p>"Thank you, Bernadette," muttered Lucius Malfoy absent-mindedly as he stroked the beautiful animal's plumage with one hand and glanced at the headline of the day.</p><p>"It seems that our Lord has had his first successes in Russia," he said after a brief moment. "It has taken long enough."</p><p>Hermione could see how her Master’s eyes flew over the lines, how his face darkened imperceptibly and how the hand that had just caressed the owl hung in the air, forgotten. Was the news not so positive after all? Had something happened in Russia that had set the Death Eaters back?</p><p>"Apparently, he was able to locate a nest of rebellious wizards... and wipe it out. According to this article, they were to blame for the fact that his efforts had not made much progress in the last few weeks," he continued.</p><p>"That's good news, isn't it?" Hermione asked with badly pretended enthusiasm in her voice. She still couldn't quite make out why the article made such a negative impression on the landlord.</p><p>"Do you think so?" Malfoy turned to her. "You don't have to pretend, Granger, nobody believes you anyway that you could be enthusiastic about the Dark Lord's cause ... or did you suddenly change your views?"</p><p>A suspicious look entered his eyes, and again, Hermione couldn't understand what caused this suspicion. Of course, she hadn't changed her views and of course, he knew that, so why should he mistrust her when he knew so clearly where she stood? Did he think that she would try to play the defector and then stab him in the back? He should know better than that, as it was out of the question for her. So why all this suspicion?</p><p>"No, Master," she replied in a low voice, "even if the cause would convince me - which it does not - I would never be able to be loyal to a man who killed my best friend and forced many other friends and loved ones into slavery."</p><p>"This sounds more like the Gryffindor I was expecting," Malfoy commented, "never give up, always stand up for what is good, do the right thing, never accept defeat. Isn't that what you lions are like?"</p><p>The tone of voice suddenly became sharper and Hermione was unsure whether the characterisation, which she felt was so positive, even praise, was not meant by him as an insult.</p><p>"That's right. I will never stop believing that one day Voldemort will be defeated and the world can be as it should be again," she declared in a firm voice, anxious not to let her own insecurity and confusion over the conversation show.</p><p>"Believe?" Lucius Malfoy snorted. "you believe? Have you ever seen faith move anything? If you do not act, nothing will change. Anyone who waits and thinks time will tell is a fool. Do you think the Dark Lord would be where he is today if he had just believed and didn't act?"</p><p>Irritated and angry, Hermione squinted her eyes together. "What are you trying to say? What do you expect? I'm your slave, remember? Do you expect me to reveal my plans to you, to admit to you that I have any plans at all? You have no idea what my present situation means to me... and it's your fault!"</p><p>Anger flashed in the older wizard’s eyes and with a jerk he rose from his chair. Hermione, who was standing right next to his seat, noticed now more than ever how much taller this man was. Not only the wizard Lucius Malfoy, but also the man was more powerful than she was and she probably did better not to tease him.</p><p>He stood in front of her, both arms supported on the tabletop, forcing her to retreat to the edge. Caught between the table and the tall figure of the man, she suddenly lacked the courage to throw back at him.</p><p>"It's my fault, Mudblood?" he hissed, "Mine? You let yourself get caught, you and your silly little friends. The only guilt I carry, if you will, is being on the winning side. And that has nothing to do with guilt, but with prudence."</p><p>Unexpectedly, her temper flared up again and made her say words before she could stop herself. "Prudence, huh? I'd call it cowardice or lust for power. No sooner had your master fallen than you came crawling to the ministry to ingratiate yourself. And no sooner was he back than you bowed down in the dust again before him. That is a kind of prudence I will never understand.”</p><p>No sooner had she said those words than she regretted it again. She did well the last few weeks with her submissive, polite manner, her master did nothing to her and treated her almost humanely. But her words now would certainly not go unpunished. Still - they were said, they expressed what she thought, and Hermione was too proud to give in now. Without batting an eye, she returned the hard look of the blue eyes.</p><p>Suddenly, from one heartbeat to the next, the expression on Malfoy's face changed. The wordless staring continued, but his eyes were softer. Hermione thought she could read something like relief in them. Confused, her gaze flickered briefly on the floor and she missed the way her master's eyes fell on her lips. Before she could summon up the courage to lift her gaze again, the silent eye contact was interrupted by a voice.</p><p>"Well, Lucius, do we have to discipline our slave so early in the morning?"</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Impertinence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As if stung by a tarantula, Lucius Malfoy flinched and released Hermione from the unpleasant prison between his arms and the table.</p><p>"Severus, I didn't hear you come in," Malfoy said, obviously struggling to strike a normal tone.</p><p>Snape's eyes rested for a moment on Hermione, who stood beside the table with lowered eyes and trembling hands, then he turned his attention to his Death Eater colleague.</p><p>"Twinkle let me in, and when no one showed up to receive me, I took the liberty to join you unasked," he explained, but then frowned and added, "Have you been having breakfast alone with your slave girl lately?</p><p>"No," Malfoy replied, and while he offered his guest a seat at the table with a gesture of his hand, began his explanation, "There was a little argument this morning... you know how I am. Unnecessary stress in the morning is an abhorrent to me, so I sent Narcissa and Draco away.”</p><p>With a grateful nod, Severus Snape lowered himself onto one of the dark chairs. Immediately, Hermione rushed to him to provide another set of cutlery and plate and cup. While she prepared knife, fork and various spoons in the correct order with practiced movements, she could once again feel Snape's searching gaze on her. She felt her face turn red as she felt naked under his stare, but she didn't let herself be disturbed and returned to her usual place next to her master as quickly as possible.</p><p>"Well, what has she done?" Snape asked, while he grabbed a bun from the middle of the richly laid table.</p><p>"Padron me?"</p><p>"When I came in, it seemed to me that you were giving Granger a stern rebuke. Have I misinterpreted what transpired?" he elaborated on his question, ending the second part by raising his eyebrow in an open and suggestive manner.</p><p>That elicited a laugh from Malfoy, that Hermione immediately recognised as nervous, but his answer was calm, "My goodness, no. Your mind seems to be on only one track recently. She provoked me with her insolent words - and a slave should not be insolent to her master."</p><p>"Insolent, eh?" Snape mused.</p><p>Once again, his eyes rested thoughtfully on Hermione. As if he had suddenly become aware of it, he turned away a moment later and inspected the interior of the great dining room. The dark wooden table stretched out across the entire room and he knew from his own experience that thirty people could comfortably sit at it.</p><p>Now only the place at the head of the table and that to the left of the master of the house were occupied, and to his right there were two places where breakfast dishes were also placed. Contrary to many of his colleagues, Lucius Malfoy always had the table completely set in the morning with everything that belonged to a generous breakfast. Other wizards simply expressed their wishes to the house elves and they hurriedly conjured them up from the kitchen. Not so Malfoy: Snape knew that his old colleague found the presence of house elves during the meal disturbing and his appetite was heightened by the sight of all the beautifully prepared food. And so, the large table was loaded with all sorts of delicacies, always within easy reach for those present.</p><p>All the more astonishing that now the human slave was allowed to be present. Apparently, she had no other task than to refill the coffee or various juices whenever one of the gentlemen demanded it - a task that Narcissa Malfoy used to do much to her own displeasure. She had always struggled to be a servant to her husband on this point, he knew that all too well.</p><p>The room itself was cut in a perfect rectangle and panelled with dark wood up to about half the height of the wall. Above it, another white wall stretched for another two meters or so, which finally ended in several equally perfect cross vaults. From each of the three cross vaults hung a large, silver chandelier, each of them equipped with exactly twenty magic candles, which always began to burn as soon as a member of the house or a guest entered the room.</p><p>The high windows, which stretched along the entire side, were covered with white, heavy curtains in the colour of the ceiling. The room was facing east, so that the rising sun bathed it in a warm light in the morning, but could not heat it up too much during the day.</p><p>In all this restrained splendour and elegance, the idea that Lucius Malfoy could tolerate a cheeky slave at the breakfast table seemed bizarre to Snape. He knew the Lord of the house only too well and knew that it would be easy for him to train a slave to obey him like a house elf. Even a stubborn creature like Hermione Granger.</p><p>His gaze returned back to the starting point: to the young woman standing next to her master's chair with her eyes lowered.</p><p>"How is it that she still dares to be impertinent," Snape formulated the question that came to his mind during his observations of the room, "I would have assumed that under your rule this particular trait would quickly be smothered.”</p><p>Malfoy, who had returned to the Daily Prophet because of his silent guest, now let the paper sink once more and turned to him. "You'd think so, wouldn't you? I fear it was her Gryffindor pride. Most of the time she is as well-behaved as a house elf, but every now and then her old character flashes through. I have chosen an exhausting slave, but at least she's valuable."</p><p>Snape realised immediately that his question had not been answered, and that only made him more suspicious. Something didn't fit into the picture, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. With a shrug he turned his attention back to his second breakfast and only squinted over to Hermione every now and again.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>"You clean the kitchen?"</p><p>Scared, Hermione spun around. She was just cleaning the floor beneath a huge, magical oven when a voice sounded behind her. Uncertain, still sitting on her knees, she looked up at the unexpected intruder. He looked down on the her just as wordlessly, before he stepped a few steps further into the kitchen and dropped onto a stool at the big preparation table.</p><p>What was Snape doing here? Why was she alone with him again? And why was he staring at her silently again?</p><p>"Can-" Hermione started, but her voice broke and she had to clear her throat before she could ask her question, "Can I ... help you, Sir?"</p><p>Still the unwelcome guest remained silent and only looked down from his seat over the table to Hermione sitting on the floor. The kitchen was large, the table alone was certainly five metres long and two metres wide. And yet it suddenly seemed to her that the room got too crowded, as if she was being suffocated by the presence of her former Potions professor. Nervously, she cleared her throat again.</p><p>"I... I have to clean up here, so if you don't need anything..."</p><p>"Go ahead, I don't need anything. Continue where you left off."</p><p>Hermione couldn't think of any other answer from Snape that would have unsettled her more than that calm, indifferent tone. She glanced at him for a moment, then turned back, grabbed the rag and stretched to find the spot deep under the stove where she had last cleaned.</p><p>She didn't like the fact that Snape was sitting behind her, that she had to turn her back on him while she was almost lying under the stove. She could feel his eyes on her back, but the man himself made no sound. Annoyed, Hermione called herself to order. He could stare all he wanted. Her skirt was short, he could probably admire her bare thighs, but nothing more. He wouldn't dare break her master’s rules and touch her. Whatever was going on in his sick mind, she would not give him the joy and show him fear.</p><p>"Why are you cleaning here and not the house elves with their magic?" the deep voice suddenly sounded close behind her.</p><p>Horrified, Hermione let go of the cloth and straightened up. Snape squatted next to her and looked at her with his vacuous look.</p><p>"What... I don't know," she said, "I guess the Malfoys haven't thought of a better way to humiliate me. They're not all that bright, it seems."</p><p>After a brief moment of silence, Hermione could not help but add, "Just as all Death Eaters are not very bright."</p><p>Provocatively, she sat up and looked him in the eye. But instead of anger or contempt, she discovered - nothing. Expressionless stares, directed at her with great intensity, but impossible to interpret. She stared back, but she sensed that she would be the first to break eye contact. Heat crept across her neck into her face and again she was annoyed that she was even involved in conversations or eye duels with this man, with this murderer.</p><p>As if the staring competition had never taken place, she finally stood up and strolled to the wall with the copper and cast-iron pots. The water in the large wooden kettle was still hot, foam was floating on the surface, just waiting to devour dirty dishes, pots, pans and cutlery. Leisurely, anxious to appear a calm on the outside, Hermione let the breakfast dishes and the preparation pots sink slowly into the hot water. Emphasising indifference, she reached for the sponge - and found that it was not where it was supposed to be.</p><p>"You actually wash the dishes by hand," Snape asked drily as he examined the sponge in his hand.</p><p>"Yes," Hermione hissed, "if I'm allowed! Give me back the sponge... sir!"</p><p>She noticed Snape looking to the side for a split second before he took a big step towards her. Before she could react, Snape dipped the sponge deep into the dishwater, let it soak in - and then squeezed it out over her. The water immediately became cold and ran down her hair, her face, right down to her dress. Hermione felt her nipples stand up under the cold and wanted to cross her arms in front of her chest. But Snape stopped her. He grabbed both wrists and held them together behind her pelvis.</p><p>"You should be careful, Granger," he whispered to her, "Insolence is not good for a slave. And who knows which of these not-so-bright Death Eaters will not one day get the idea to pay Lucius the money so he can do what he wants with you? Do you think it's good to have been so bold to everyone before?"</p><p>The whispering was as unemotional as his staring, but Hermione felt a shiver run down her spine. His face approached her neck until she felt first his hot breath, then his teeth against her pulse. Hermione's eyes opened in horror. Snape didn't stink like Fenrir Greyback, he was washed and groomed - and yet this physical closeness caused more nausea than the werewolf had been able to.</p><p>She could feel the older man sink his teeth slightly into her delicate flesh, could feel him pull her closer. But her mind could not comprehend it. She felt as if she was standing beside her, as if what was happening to her body was not connected to her. It seemed as if she was staring down from the outside at the black-clad man, the murderer of Dumbledore, the traitor who had enslaved Ginny - and who now enjoyed her body as if it belonged to him, as if she was in fact nothing more than that body, at the free disposal of anyone who wanted to use it.</p><p>A sudden pain ripped Hermione from her trance-like state - Snape actually bit her. Disgusted, she writhed under his firm grip, but the wizard made no attempt to hold her any longer. He stood up, licked his lips and left with one last, impenetrable look.</p><p>And it was only now, when Hermione looked at him, frightened and angry, that she noticed another figure standing at the entrance to the kitchen.</p><p>Draco Malfoy.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The first step</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco Malfoy.</p><p>He was always there when she was alone. He seemed to have a kind of sixth sense for when she was without the house-elves in the kitchen or his father in the hallways. He never missed an opportunity to bully her and scare her - only at night in bed had he left her alone, contrary to his words. She hoped very much that she owed this to his father's ban and not to a ruse by Draco Malfoy himself. Her situation was awkward enough, she really did not need the additional fear he caused in her.</p><p>Trembeling, she glanced again at the kitchen entrance - and was relieved to find that she was alone again. Whatever the scene with Snape was about, she was sure that it was not good that Malfoy watched her. Sooner or later he would present her with the bill for it or otherwise use it against her.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>"You want what?"</p><p>Horror was in the voice of Lucius Malfoy. He could not believe what he just heard. Stunned, he stared at his colleague.</p><p>"You, of all people, want to buy the right?</p><p>The man nodded without giving any reason. The silence only made Malfoy more incredulous. What motive could this man have for paying so much? Sure, it had been his idea to make a deal out of it, but that of all people this Death Eater would accept the offer, would invest so much?</p><p>"I do not owe you an explanation, Lucius," came a cold, cutting remark, "you made us all an offer, I intend to accept it. I have more gold than I can ever spend, and I see no reason why you should react the way you are now."</p><p>Lucius Malfoy himself didn't know why he was so upset. All he knew was that this trade did not match the picture he had of this Death Eater until recently. And he knew, no, he rather felt that something in him could not bear the thought of finally giving his goods into the hands of another.</p><p>When he had thought up the plan, when he had recognised the value of this accidental discovery, he had not thought for a second that he could have any interest in it himself. He had only thought about the gold and his chances of advancement. But now that a serious business partner had actually stepped onto the scene, he realised how much he disliked his own idea. But he could not back down. Not only would he lose face, but in the worst case he would have to face unpleasant questions from the Dark Lord.</p><p>"Very well, then. Give me the gold and we'll have a deal," he replied after a short pause.</p><p>He could not afford to arouse suspicion. And it was so easy to arouse suspicion. The Dark Lord wasn't paranoid, he rather had an unerring instinct. He knew who was loyal with all his heart, who was only in it for gain, and who was just too cowardly to turn his back on him. And he could tell instantly when someone was about to betray him.</p><p>That Severus Snape was still alive, even though he had once joined Dumbledore, was a great miracle for him - and he knew that Snape had been under constant suspicion for several years. Until the day he killed Dumbledore himself. When he protected Draco and actually got his hands dirty. From that moment on, no one in the hierarchy was above him. But it had taken the death of the Dark Lord’s most powerful adversary to dispel those doubts. What was he, Lucius, to do if the Dark Lord ever suspected him of betraying the cause?</p><p>"I shall have breakfast with you tomorrow. Alone, just the two of us, no house-elves, no slaves, no family. Then you shall have your gold."</p><p>Only with difficulty could Lucius Malfoy free himself from the cold feeling of insecurity he had just created with his own thoughts. This trade would bring a powerful man even closer to him and help him stay on the good side of the Dark Lord. It had been his idea, it was good, it was a unique chance to improve and consolidate his position.</p><p>"It's a deal.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>With slow but wide steps the Death Eater left the Malfoys' estate. He was amazed at how easily he was able to convince Lucius of this deal. Sure, it had been his idea, but from the very moment Greyback laid his fingers on the girl, he suspected that the other man might not be so keen to go through with the deal after all. Inwardly he had already prepared himself to throw his authority into the scales, when Lucius suddenly gave in and agreed without further questioning.</p><p>Why didn't Malfoy just stand by his wishes? Whose accusation did he fear, what accusation should come? Why did he buckle so quickly at the slightest sign of authority from a superior Death Eater? Did he have something to hide?</p><p>Thoughtfully, the man stepped through the magical barrier surrounding the property and turned around. His gaze wandered over the facades of the building, which was just glowing in the midday sun. The inhabitants of the house were all behaving strangely. Sure, the relationship between Narcissa and Lucius had cooled off a long time ago, but a quarrel that resulted in breakfast not being taken together had not happened for a long time. And the son in particular was behaving strangely. Towards everyone and everything he showed hatred; no one had seen him laugh for weeks, only hatred seemed to keep him alive at all.</p><p>What was going on in this house?</p><p>With a sigh the Death Eater turned away. He would not understand it by staring. He resolved to visit the Malfoys regularly over the next few days. If he didn’t find out everything about the goings-on, his plan might be doomed to fail. There was also the possibility that he had been deceived by Lucius all these years.</p><p>Slim as that possibility was, he had to be sure. He had to find out where he stood.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. A stubborn mouth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sighing, Hermione let herself sink onto a stool. After meeting Snape, she had spent hours cleaning the kitchen - longer than usual, as her thoughts kept wandering back to the strange meeting. What was the meaning of his behaviour? Only recently he inquired about her well-being, today he came down to the kitchen just to squeeze a sponge with water over her head at the end. What was he planning?</p><p>With a groan she reached for a knife and began to cut a slice from the old loaf of bread that lay before her. Snape confused her. While with Draco Malfoy she didn't know why he hated her, she could at least trust that he did. His father seemed to be indifferent to her and only calculated how much she was worth, his mother also showed her nothing but hatred.</p><p>Her former Potions professor, on the other hand, was a mystery. She was convinced of his evilness, convinced of his loyalty to the Dark Lord. His murder of Dumbledore spoke for itself and nothing could ever justify the act. And yet, doubt and uncertainty gnawed at her. What games was this man playing with her?</p><p>The kitchen around her was cleaner than it had been in years. Lost in thought, she had cleaned every corner, made everything sparkle and shine, whatever was possible. She had no duties outside the kitchen and was only too glad to have had a whole morning's rest after Snape and Malfoy disturbed her after breakfast. She liked this time she had for herself, enjoying a slice of bread with cheese and a cup of tea, even if she had to use the leaves for the third time. There were few days when she could be so undisturbed. And the time was limited, because in half an hour at the latest the house elves would return and begin the preparations for lunch.</p><p>But the rest did not last long. Just as she was about to take the first bite of her bread, she heard steps coming down the stairs to the kitchen. Hoping that it was not the son of the house again, she turned her gaze to the entrance - and full of relief she discovered Lucius Malfoy.</p><p>"You are relieved to see me?" the older wizard asked in surprise, "To what do I owe this honour?"</p><p>Blushing, she lowered her eyes to the bread. Hermione did not want him to misunderstand the situation - but neither did she want to tell him about her fear of Draco. </p><p>Her silence amazed Lucius Malfoy all the more. What was she so afraid of? And why wasn't she afraid of him? With slow steps, he approached her and sat down on a chair on the other side of the table. </p><p>Wordlessly, he stared at the witch before him. His eyes fell on the bread he had bitten into and the tea, which was now hardly warm at all. No wonder that her once attractive figure was now almost unrecognisable. She definitely didn’t eat enough. Lucius wondered whether he should give her more, just in case Severus might find her appearance no longer pleasing.</p><p>"Is this your lunch?"</p><p>Finally, the girl looked up. It was obvious she didn’t understand the question, after all, it was he who had prescribed her meals. Since she had been with them, her lunch consisted of a slice of bread with cheese and a cup of tea, if any was left. For breakfast there was a bowl of porridge, for dinner soup made from the leftovers of the family’s meal or, if nothing was left, another slice of bread. Lucius had to admit, he never really spent time thinking of what she might need to survive when he told her that those were her meals. He didn’t care what she ate.</p><p>A sigh escaped him - of course his question was incomprehensible to her. Wordlessly he stood up and went to the cooling cabinet next door. He was sure that the house elves stored supplies there, even though he himself had never entered the room before. Indeed, he quickly found what he was looking for and returned to the kitchen.</p><p>"Here," he said, while placing a bottle of fresh milk in front of her, "you will have an extra glass of milk every lunchtime from now on!"</p><p>Hermione nearly choked on the last piece of bread. "What?"</p><p>"A glass of milk. For lunch and dinner. Every day. From now on!" Lucius repeated slowly and in a tetchy voice. Why couldn't she just accept kindness when it was offered her?</p><p>Still suspiciously, Hermione grabbed the bottle, got a glass from the cupboard and poured it for herself. She sniffed at it for a moment, but since she couldn't detect any suspicious smell, she gulped it down hastily. It had been weeks since she last drank milk, and she knew what a positive effect it would have on her body. She was all the more tormented by the question why Lucius Malfoy suddenly developed an interest in her well-being.</p><p>He was already turning away when the horrifying realisation hit her. "You sold me!"</p><p>Malfoy stopped and turned back to her. "Your mind is really sharp. A small, trivial clue is enough and you draw the right conclusions."</p><p>A cold hand wrapped around her heart. He had indeed done it. He did not even deny it. He had sealed her fate, just like that. What had been a distant fear of the future until a moment ago had suddenly come very close.</p><p>"To who?"</p><p>"To someone who can be useful to me."</p><p>"Anyone can be useful to you, that's no answer!" Hermione hissed, "I have a right to know what kind of horny cock I'm about to have to put up with!"</p><p>Amused, Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Your language leaves something to be desired, little Gryffindor."</p><p>"I've had enough of you playing games with me. Tell me who it is. You owe me-"</p><p>"Nothing," he interrupted her, "I don't owe you anything. You're lucky I gave you any warning at all. Now go back to your position and be good."</p><p>Again, he wanted to turn to leave, but once more Hermione stopped him. Her little hand lay firmly on his arm and showed him that she was no longer willing to be submissive and restrained.</p><p>"I can't have a slave who doesn't do what I order. Lunch time is coming up and you are hanging here whining on my arm," he lorded her over, "you will not stay in the kitchen today, since you will only make a mess here anyway. Come along!"</p><p>Before Hermione realised what was happening, he freed his arm, grabbed her hand, which held it before, and pulled her out of the kitchen behind him. Too surprised by what happened, she was unable to resist the rough treatment. It only took a moment, however, before she understood where her Master was taking her. He pulled her towards the stairs to the wing with the family's private quarters. She had never been there before, but she knew that the bedrooms and three luxurious bathrooms were in the upper south wing. What was she supposed to do there?</p><p>oOoOoOo</p><p>Draco Malfoy clenched his fists. He had not liked the scene he just witnessed between his father and Granger. Even though he didn’t understand what was being said, he saw his father offering milk to the Mudblood. And apparently, he took some back talk. But what was worst of all - Draco knew exactly where the stairs led that his father dragged the slave to. The thought of what he might be doing with that woman in a bedroom made him sick.</p><p>Quietly he sneaked after them - annoyed by the fact that he suddenly became a spy in his own house. Since Hermione Granger had moved in with them, his life was a living hell. No, if he was honest with himself, it had been before, but through her he was reminded day by day how great his hatred was. And he hated her with all his heart. When he saw how his father - ignorant, naive, maybe just blind - treated that particular Gryffindor, how he was almost kind to her, how he didn't seem to worry about the future, he felt the world go dark around him. </p><p>Surprised, he suddenly realised that his father did not open the door to his private bedroom, but went one step further. What was he planning, what was he doing there with his slave of all places?</p><p>oOoOoOo</p><p>"Undress," Lucius Malfoy commanded with a stern look. </p><p>When the girl made no effort to obey the order, he pulled out his wand and magically made her clothes disappear. She shot him an accusing look, but Hermione seemed unwilling to bow to humiliation and beg for anything.</p><p>"You have a beautiful body, Hermione."</p><p>Even this purred compliment and the emphasis on her first name did not bring the blond man any reaction. His slave stood before him, immobile, untouched, and stared defiantly at the ground. It seemed as if she had decided that everything that happened to her body had nothing to do with her. </p><p>He stared at her uninhibitedly and repeated the compliment silently to himself - she actually had a beautiful body, that of a young woman, though a bit too thin and with a sickly skin colour. Moreover, her hair seemed dull and not very lively - the otherwise so unruly curls hung down desolately.</p><p>He approached her and grabbed a strand of her hair. Still he could not provoke a reaction. Lost in thought, he led the hair to his nose, stared her right into the eyes and smelled it. Only now did she lift her gaze and look at him in disbelief. Satisfied to finally have evoked a reaction, Lucius stepped closer to her until their bodies almost touched.</p><p>He sold her virginity, but that did not mean that she was totally off limits until the prize was claimed. He could already imagine putting her stubborn mouth to good use.</p><p>He was just about to order her to get down on her knees when they were rudely interrupted.</p><p>"What the hell are you doing, Father?"</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. The friendliness of a Death Eater</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As if she, and not Lucius Malfoy, had been caught in an improper act, Hermione reflexively took a step back. No matter when, no matter where - Draco Malfoy always managed to make fear crawl into every fibre of her body within seconds. But this time, to her relief, his attention was focused on his father, who outwardly looked at his son without emotion.</p><p>"You're in the way, Draco," he said simply.</p><p>Hermione could clearly see that her master did not feel the need to explain or justify his actions to his son. The younger Malfoy was accordingly shocked by the rough treatment. Tense, he clenched his fists, but although it visibly irritated Lucius Malfoy that his son would show such extreme emotions in the face of such a trifle, he remained calm.</p><p>The hateful look did not escape Hermione's notice. The hatred was not new to her, but it was new that it seemed to be directed against his own father. Or was it simply horror that Lucius Malfoy approached her in this way? But why then did Draco look at her in disbelief and not at his father? She herself could not believe that she was standing here completely naked in front of the two Malfoys, but that was no real surprise, given her slave status. So why disbelief? And why hatred towards Lucius Malfoy?</p><p>Lost in thought, Hermione failed to notice that Draco Malfoy left the bath. It was only the master's annoyed sigh that brought her back to reality.</p><p>"There's a shower in the back," said Lucius Malfoy, "you'll find various lotions for hair and body embedded in the wall. Clean yourself up properly."</p><p>Hermione had not anticipated this terse announcement at all. Was she really just here to wash herself? Hesitantly, she took a few steps towards the large cabin, but suspiciously turned around again.</p><p>Lucius Malfoy seemed to have lost all interest in her, however, for he sat down on a luxurious armchair in a corner of the bathroom and resorted to the Daily Prophet. Frowning - why was there even an armchair in the bathroom? - she turned around again, entered the shower cubicle and closed the milky opaque glass doors behind her.</p><p>As bizarre as the whole situation seemed to her just now, Hermione decided to enjoy this hot shower. The short baths in the kitchen's washing buckets made her clean, but the relaxing effect of bath or shower, which was also very important for her feeling of cleanliness, was completely absent.</p><p>As soon as she closed the doors behind her, a pleasantly hot, gentle rain began to fall on her. For a few minutes, Hermione simply enjoyed the feeling of real, cosy warmth for the first time in weeks.</p><p>"Magic really is great," she murmured softly.</p><p>But she immediately regretted having said those words. They remained in front of her, stretched, and seemed to crush her. The water continued to splash down on her, but it was no longer comforting and pleasant.</p><p>Magic.</p><p>When Hermione had first come to Hogwarts, magic meant freedom for her. New worlds of knowledge, new possibilities had opened up to her. She connected all that was good with it.</p><p>The feeling of not being able to breathe enveloped her. It was magic that had killed Harry and given power to a madman for the second time. She herself had lost access to magic - forever. From the central protagonist at the side of Harry and Ron she was now condemned to be a helpless spectator.</p><p>The water was still flowing and seemed to want to push her to the ground. In a corner of her consciousness she cursed herself for allowing such harmless thoughts to pull her into such a negative vortex before she saw black.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>When Hermione woke up again, she was wrapped in a white, soft bathrobe and was laying on the armchair that had magically been transformed into a sofa. Confused, she sat up and looked around. Contrary to expectations, she was not alone: Lucius Malfoy stood leaning against the wall in front of her. For a short moment they looked at each other wordlessly, then Malfoy lowered his gaze, shaking his head.</p><p>"Have you forgotten how to take a shower, or do mudbloods simply never do that?" he asked in a cold tone of voice, "You could have told me that taking a shower was too much for you."</p><p>Hermione swallowed a harsh answer to this insult. She was too aware that Lucius Malfoy had not taken advantage of her weakness, but on the contrary obviously helped her. In addition, she learned in recent weeks that she could irritate him more with silence than with heated replies.</p><p>The expanding silence in the bathroom was abruptly interrupted by the popping sound of an apparating house-elf. "Lunch is served, Sir!".</p><p>Lucius Malfoy visibly flinched and threw an angry glance at the disturbing house-elf, after which the latter disappeared again with a startled squeak. For a brief moment, Malfoy glanced at Hermione, then narrowly ordered, "Get dressed and come with me."</p><p>She quickly obeyed, then went to the door. To her amazement the door was locked. Confused, she turned to Malfoy, but this time she received no answer. Instead, he simply waved his wand and opened the door.</p><p>For a moment, Hermione waited for an explanation, but when she didn't get one, she turned to leave. Her eyes fell again on the bathrobe she left on the sofa, and following a sudden thought, she looked up at Malfoy with a smile. "Thank you".</p><p>This time, deliberately not waiting for a reaction, she finally left the bathroom, a triumphant grin on her lips. But she didn't get far. After only a few steps she was grabbed and pressed against the wall with force.</p><p>"Don't fuck with me," Malfoy growled. "You're in no position to fuck with me!"</p><p>Hermione, who already expected such an outburst, did not bat an eye. "Or what? What threat do you think would work on me? You've already sold my body. My wand was taken away from me long ago. What else are you going to do?"</p><p>"You have no idea how good you have it here. You could do a lot worse. Instead of fucking with me, you should be showing a little gratitude!"</p><p>Hermione laughed dryly. "I said thank you!"</p><p>The grip on her shoulder hardened and Lucius Malfoy stepped even closer to her. "What do you think would have happened if you had fainted in front of someone else? I try to be friendly."</p><p>"Why?" Hermione challenged him, "Why are you doing this? Do you really think I believe you are a philanthropist and want to be kind to a Mudblood like me? So why are you doing all this? You're planning something!"</p><p>To her surprise, the man before her not only remained silent, he literally froze. Suspiciously, she raised her head and looked for a reaction in his eyes. He looked back, but the expression in his eyes was of no use to Hermione.</p><p>"I'll take the silence as confirmation that I've hit the mark," she finally said.</p><p>Anger rose in Malfoy's eyes.</p><p>"Fine," he hissed and let her go. Wordlessly, he made his way to the dining room without making sure that Hermione followed him.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>Sighing, Hermione let herself fall on her mattress. The day had been much more strenuous than she'd liked. Not physically, but she felt emotionally drained. The maelstrom of despair that had made her faint in the shower had become so familiar to her that she hated it. She didn't want to think about the situation that way anymore, she didn't want to despair.</p><p>Perhaps that was one of the reasons why she sought confrontation with Lucius Malfoy - to distract herself and cover up her own helplessness. But she did not like the result. She served at lunch as usual, but her master kept quiet, just as he had for dinner. Unmoved, he watched his wife's harassment, seemingly overlooking violence and insults against Hermione. Apparently, she hit the mark, Malfoy obviously saw no need to put on a friendly mask any more.</p><p>Slowly she pulled the black uniform over her head and reached for the linen bag she had taken from the kitchen and turned into a nightgown. Just as she was about to lie down to sleep, the door to her cabin suddenly opened. Before Hermione could recover from her shock, she saw herself pressed against her mattress and Draco Malfoy's pale face above her.</p><p>"Well, was there a little quarrel between lovers?" he softly said to her, "Could you not today satisfy my father's wishes?"</p><p>Desperately, Hermione struggled against the hands that pressed her arms firmly to the ground and the knees that pushed her thighs apart.</p><p>"Leave me alone, Malfoy!" She hurled a trembling voice at him.</p><p>"Guess it didn't work, you sucking up to my father, did it?" he continued unmoved, "Do you enjoy spreading your legs for your enemies?"</p><p>As if to give his words more power, he grabbed both her arms with one hand and let the other one slide to the inside of her thighs.</p><p>"It is your father who is selling me out," Hermione spat, "I have never spread my legs - and I certainly won't do it voluntarily for any of you!”</p><p>"Don't pretend to be so innocent," Draco hissed, "I saw how you tried to wrap Snape around your finger and how you got father to use the family bath today!"</p><p>"What do you want from me anyway?", Hermione asked unnerved.</p><p>The day had been long and she felt that she was even too tired to be seriously afraid. Her incomprehension of Draco Malfoy's behaviour instead made her angry. "Are you afraid I could harm your father? Harry's dead, Draco. We've lost. Irreversibly. What danger could I possibly pose?"</p><p>"You don't seem to care much about that. Do you like the new world order? Do you enjoy being the Death Eater's slut?"</p><p>"What the fuck are you talking about? Do you think I enjoyed having my best friend murdered in front of me? Do you really think that I, as the Mudblood, welcome Voldemort's victory?"</p><p>For a moment, Hermione thought she could read something like relief in Draco's eyes, but immediately there was only distrust. Wordlessly, she met the suspicious stare - until she suddenly noticed a rubbing movement of the hand on her thigh.</p><p>Horrified, she looked down at herself and only now did she realize that her legs were spread wide, that Malfoy's hand was trying to find its way between her thighs. Involuntarily, a whimpering sound escaped her.</p><p>"Well, how do you like that, little bitch?"</p><p>"Malfoy, please... please just leave me alone!" Horror enveloped her whole body while she tried to comprehend what was happening. She never thought Malfoy was capable of this, even after all the bullying at school.</p><p>"Why would you do that? Why should only my father be allowed to have fun with you?" Draco’s reply made her stomach run cold.</p><p>"Because she's not your property!"</p><p>Two pairs of eyes flew up to the door in surprise, gazing at the shadowy figure that stood there.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Between kissing and moaning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Hermione saw who was standing in the doorway, her blood froze. She should have been happy that she was saved from Malfoy - but the presence of this man at this hour with these words could only mean one thing.</p><p>"What are you doing here" Draco asked furiously.</p><p>"I've invested money and I don't want it to be for nothing," came the simple answer.</p><p>Hermione was paling, for that statement proved her right in her fear. Her former classmate now also seemed to understand, because he looked back at her as she was still lying underneath him.</p><p>"So, you do like older men?"</p><p>"Eat shit, Malfoy!" she hissed. "And get off me!"</p><p>"I couldn't agree more, Draco," Snape said stoically. "Would you please let go of your father's property so I can recoup my investment?"</p><p>Reluctantly, Draco Malfoy sat up and took his hands off Hermione's body. She would have felt relief if the figure of Severus Snape had not hung as a threatening shadow in the door frame - and if his intentions had not been revealed so clearly. She watched motionlessly as one man stood up and walked past the other out the door.</p><p>A short, for her uninterpretable exchange of glances took place between them before Draco snorted and took off. Only when Snape approached her Hermione found the strength to move. Seeking protection, she reached for her blanket, pulled it to her chest and looked defensively into the eyes of the black-haired Death Eater in front of her.</p><p>"Who would have thought that Draco would ever rise up against his father's will, eh?" Snape asked in an almost chattering tone. Carelessly, he glanced across the tiny room before kneeling before her and looking at her.</p><p>Hermione pulled the blanket even tighter, as if this thin piece of cloth could protect her from what was coming. But the man in front of her showed no more movement. His gaze lay on her, didn't move away from her face, but at the same time was indistinct. Just when Hermione thought Snape had changed his mind, he grabbed her and forced her back into a lying position.</p><p>"So, Lucius has obviously informed you of my purchase."</p><p>Hermione shook her head. That she had been sold, yes, she knew that - but that of all people her former Potions professor would be the buyer! The man who had enslaved Ginny, who had made all the terrible things that happened in the last few weeks possible by killing Dumbledore - this man was the last person she would expect to take an interest in her of all people.</p><p>"Then it was the much-praised mind that told you why I'm here, hmm?"</p><p>Without waiting for her answer, Snape tore the blanket away, grabbed her nightgown and pulled it roughly over her head. With a panic that was far more real in the face of a man whose aim was so obvious, Hermione rebelled against him, but with an iron force Snape held her captive. Like Draco before him, he needed only one hand to hold her arms above her head and used the other to undo the buttons on his trousers. Desperate, Hermione kicked around, and for a brief moment she managed to distract her attacker.</p><p>The short moment was enough to free her wrists with all her might, give Snape a hard jolt against the shoulder, and push him off without consideration. Just as she was about to roll herself off the mattress, he already recovered and grabbed her unruly locks.</p><p>"You've always been wilder than is good for your own health, Granger," he breathed softly into her ear as he pulled her back to him by force.</p><p>Whimpering with pain, Hermione stopped her flight and had to helplessly let Snape pull her backwards against his chest.</p><p>"Don’t make this harder than it has to be," he added, without loosening the grip in her hair.</p><p>Meanwhile his other hand found its way around Hermione and grabbed her breast firmly. The Death Eater's quiet breathing behind her, the almost unbearable pain of the excessive pull on her hair, the cold hand kneading her breast, and especially the hard cock pressing against her hips made her groan.</p><p>As if her moaning was a sign, Snape pulled her head a little further to one side to expose her narrow neck. Hot lips pressed against her neck, teeth bit painfully into her throat and the second hand moved between her thighs.</p><p>Once again that evening her legs were pushed apart and this time, she lacked the strength to resist. Kneeling, held upright only by the firm grip in her hair, her arms stretched helplessly from her, Hermione could not resist as Snape began to push first one, then two fingers into her and penetrated her deeply. With each thrust, he seemed to push the air out of her lungs, a wheeze escaped her.</p><p>"Please," she begged in a final effort, "please don't do this... please!"</p><p>But the older man was unmoved. He released her hair, pushed her forward on the mattress and then grabbed her hip with both hands. Hermione buried her face in the hard cloth while she felt Snape push his trousers aside behind her and rub his now naked cock against her cheeks. She reached for the carelessly thrown away blanket, looking for something to hold onto.</p><p>For a second it seemed as if Snape was hesitant, as if he looked around, but the briefly flickering hope died immediately. He pushed into her with force, giving her no time to relax, to recover from the shock and pain. All thoughts disappeared from Hermione's head, only the endless pain in her abdomen and between her legs dominated her world.</p><p>Behind her, Snape held her hips firmly, pulling her bottom closer with every thrust. The pain-distorted groaning that came from Hermione with each thrust was mirrored by his deep moans. Again and again, he pushed into her, pausing only to turn her around and, kneeling between her thighs, resume his rhythm.</p><p>Her hands now clawed into the sides of the mattress, but she could not take her eyes off Snape's face. He stared at her, uninhibited, impenetrable, with the same iron mask as always. Only the sweat that built up all over his body and the moans veiled in lust testified to the crime he was committing.</p><p>Hermione wanted to turn her head to the side to avoid his gaze, but immediately a hand was there, grabbed her chin and turned her back forcibly. She stared into his eyes, desperate to find any sign of sympathy, any sign of emotion. But there was nothing. Just blackness. As if he had closed himself off from her.</p><p>She felt his movements accelerate; his moans became louder as his eyes closed. It would be over soon. Perhaps, if she just closed her eyes and tried to think of a faraway place, she could forget what was happening.</p><p>"Granger...”</p><p>As if he himself was shocked by the sound he had made, Snape paused, opened his eyes, and looked directly at her again. Exhausted, she returned the look. A flicker of something appeared in his eyes.</p><p>And suddenly, his lips were on hers. With a passion she could not explain, Severus Snape kissed Hermione, and at the same time resumed his rhythm. His hand, which had previously held her hip, searched for her breast, kneading it, while the other reached into her hair again and pulled her closer.</p><p>Between kissing and moaning, his movements suddenly became uncontrolled - and then Hermione felt him tense for a moment before he sank down on her, completely exhausted, breathing heavily and with his eyes closed. But quickly, Hermione felt the energy return to Snape and he rolled away from her. Unable to move herself in any way, she watched as he straightened his trousers, gave her one last, brief look, and then left the tiny room.</p><p>She could not even cry. Hermione just lay there, staring at the ceiling above her. He had really done it. The blackness around her suddenly seemed incredibly oppressive. She didn't want to lie there anymore, alone, naked, in the darkness. But still her body refused to move a muscle. Even when a sound from outside alerted her, she remained motionless.</p><p>Without warning, her room lightened up. Blinking, she turned her head to spot the intruder. It was Lucius Malfoy who stood before her, staring at her naked body.</p><p>"You can't serve breakfast like that tomorrow, Granger!" he proclaimed. "Come on, you're going to take a shower right now!"</p><p>Using all her willpower, Hermione followed her Master to a guest toilet a few doors down, which also contained a small shower.</p><p>"You have five minutes to wash off the blood and other dirt," he commanded without showing any sympathy.</p><p>Too tired to attach any significance to what was happening, she followed his instructions. No sooner was she finished and dripping, stepping out of the shower cubicle, than Lucius Malfoy handed her a potion.</p><p>"Here, I don't want to see little Mudblood children scurrying about here in nine months. Drink it."</p><p>She followed this order without resistance, too, only to return to her cubbyhole without a word and sink into a deep, dreamless sleep.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>He'd put something in her contraceptive potion, Hermione was sure of it. Otherwise she couldn't explain how she had fallen asleep so quickly after the events of the previous night. She knew she should be grateful for the peace and quiet she had received, yet it gnawed at her that Lucius Malfoy was so prepared. Was he planning to use her more often for such services in the future and earn money with it? But she forced herself not to think about it. She would simply not think about last night, she would forget what had happened as best she could, just pretend it never happened.</p><p>With this firm resolution in her head, Hermione entered the dining room, where the family would be coming down for breakfast in the next few minutes. But to her horror, the room was not empty: Severus Snape sat on one of the chairs, read the newest edition of the Daily Prophet, and drank his first cup of coffee. When he noticed her presence, he looked up at her briefly and nodded at her.</p><p>"Don't stand there like rooted to the spot, come here and sit with me," he ordered her.</p><p>Discomfort rose in Hermione. She didn't want to approach this man, she didn't want to sit next to him, talk to him or even think about him. Snape noticed her hesitation and, sighing, put the newspaper out of his hand. For a moment he seemed to think, then he stood up and went to her himself. She involuntarily retreated, but behind her was only the wall. He leaned one hand next to her on the wall and slowly bent down to her.</p><p>"Tonight was not a very nice night for you," he started quietly, but before he could continue, the door at the other end of the hall opened and Lucius Malfoy and his family entered.</p><p>"Ahh, good morning, Severus!" Malfoy greeted his guest in a good mood, "I see you accepted our offer and stayed overnight. Did you sleep well?"</p><p>Snape quickly straightened up again and turned to his host. With a side glance at Hermione, he replied, "Yes, of course - who could not sleep well in this house?"</p><p>The meaningless chitchat that followed this greeting could not hide the fact that every single person in this room kept eyeing her, secretly or openly, during breakfast. She felt the looks resting on her, sometimes cold, sometimes calculating, sometimes actually mixed with hatred. She wanted to run away, hide somewhere and not be exposed to open contempt. She was aware that everyone in the room knew why Severus Snape had come back to Malfoy Manor late at night, and this caused her nausea.</p><p>In particular, Draco Malfoy's cold stare frightened her.</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Home with Severus Snape</h2></a>
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    <p>Hermione sat frozen at the kitchen table. The night and the strange breakfast had taken a toll on her. She still couldn't understand why her former professor had bought her. Actually, she didn't want to think about that night at all, but every second she wasn't busy, her thoughts returned there all by themselves.</p><p>The torture she had experienced through Bellatrix Lestrange had been far more painful, but she hadn't felt so dirty after it. And on top of that now came the fear. The dubious protection afforded by Lucius Malfoy ended with last night. Now, Fenrir Greyback could jump her at any time. Likewise, Draco Malfoy - his hatred boded ill.</p><p>The soft rustling of cloth made Hermione look up. Without her noticing it, Lucius Malfoy sat down beside her on the bench.</p><p>"Have you finished your breakfast?"</p><p>Hermione nodded slowly. She had no appetite in the morning, so her breakfast consisted only of hot tea.</p><p>"Good. I've got a new job for you," Malfoy informed her, "Come along. But wash your hands thoroughly first."</p><p>Mistrustfully, Hermione stood up and reached for the sponge from the crockery bucket. After she cleaned herself to her master's satisfaction, she followed him from the kitchen. To her astonishment, they did not go to the upper floor, but stayed on the ground floor. Confused, she walked through long corridors without windows, made several turns, and soon found that she had lost all orientation. Apart from the kitchen, the dining room, the manorial bathroom and her accommodation, she had not seen anything of the estate until now. The last corridor she turned into finally ended in a large, heavy double folding door made of solid wood.</p><p>"No house elf or other dirty creature has ever entered this place before," Malfoy explained in a serious voice, "I will always accompany you here and watch you for the next few days. If I do not like your behaviour, you will never set foot in here again."</p><hr/><p> </p><p>Ginny Weasley stood in the small kitchen in the apartment of Severus Snape and made tea. Her master had been away overnight and had announced himself via Patronus for five o'clock tea. Ginny now knew that this obscure man was very fond of this old British tradition and would pay homage to it whenever the opportunity arose. It was summer holidays at Hogwarts, so Snape was at home all day, unless he had other business to attend to.</p><p>Hogwarts. With a longing sigh, Ginny thought back to her old school. It seemed so long ago that they had fought there against Voldemort and his army, and yet it was only a few weeks ago. Since that day, no one had seen her but Severus Snape. She did not know how Ron was or any of her other brothers. She did not know how Hermione was doing, for all she could squeeze out of Snape when asked was a simple 'good'. And she doubted that her best friend could be really well in the clutches of the Malfoy family.</p><p>Thoughtfully, she looked at the scones, which slowly took on a golden-brown colour in the oven. She had cried a lot during the first period after Harry's death. For the wizarding world the great, only hope had died, but for her, the man she had loved more than anything else had gone.</p><p>And yet ... after many days of crying, she decided for herself not to despair any longer. Voldemort had only killed Harry. The rest of the Order were still alive, and that had to mean something. She was sure that the last word in this war had not yet been spoken. If she could, she would finish what Harry had begun. That was her vow, and every night she repeated it.</p><p>A soft ringing announced that the pastry was ready in the oven. Carefully she took out the hot baking tray and arranged the scones carefully on a large, flowered plate. Together with a pot of tea, two cups, milk, jam and clotted cream, she brought everything into the small living room and placed it on the round table in front of the fireplace, where small spoons and knives were already waiting.</p><p>She had just brought the tray back to the kitchen when she thought she heard footsteps on the stairs. And before she could make sure of it, the master of the house was standing behind her.</p><p>Before she could begin to greet him, he had grabbed her and pressed her against the door frame with force. One hand on her neck, the other supported above her head, Severus Snape stared at her from close range. Ginny's heartbeat quickened. This behaviour was new to her, for Snape had never before shown himself violent. Something must have happened that night, something that he would now take out on her. Fear took hold of her.</p><p>"Are you afraid of me?" He sounded even colder and more detached than normal.</p><p>She nodded hesitantly. The grip around her neck tightened and the face of the dark-clothed man only came closer to her. Involuntarily her hands reached for his arm, trying to release the pressure, but in vain. Fear gave way to panic when Ginny realized she could no longer breathe. The man in front of her showed no emotion, he just stared at her impenetrably - and whatever he saw, he didn't like it.</p><p>With a frown, Snape hurled her into the kitchen. Without giving her another glance, he turned away and went into his living room, where he sat down in front of the fireplace. When he realised that Ginny was not following him, his gaze became even angrier.</p><p>"What are you waiting for? The tea is getting cold," he lorded her over.</p><p>Frightened, she picked herself up from the floor and followed him. With hands slightly shaking, she reached for the pitcher of milk and poured a sip into the cups, first for him and then for herself, before adding the hot, black tea. The master of the house waited until his slave had sat down, then he took his cup, stirred carefully once, took a deep sip and closed his eyes in a relaxed manner.</p><p>Immediately, Ginny relaxed, too. She knew that this gesture meant that everything that had happened earlier that day fell away from Snape and he returned to a state of contentment and balance. And so, she met his gaze without fear as he opened his eyes again and looked directly at her.</p><p>"Everyone is afraid of me. Even you, Ginevra, although I treat you well," he commented with a sigh.</p><p>Confused, Ginny looked at him. It was true, he treated her well, more like a maid living with him than a slave. But still, it was too much to expect that she wouldn't be afraid of a Death Eater, let alone the greatest traitor of all. Surely, he must have realized that.</p><p>"I really cannot complain,” she replied seriously, “but you must not forget who you are. And who I am."</p><p>Silence spread between them and to bridge the silence, they both grabbed a knife and smeared a little jam on one of the golden-brown pastries. After a brief moment, Snape started talking again.</p><p>"I know what you want to say. It is normal to be afraid of your enemy. It is normal to hate a traitor, a murderer... a...," Snape faltered for a moment, then ended the sentence with, "Rapist."</p><p>Ginny's mouth became dry. She knew Snape was a murderer and a traitor, a Death Eater of the first degree. And she knew the crimes Death Eaters usually committed. But she felt sick when she realised that he, too, had raped women. This quiet, book-loving, tea-drinking person she had met in the last weeks, whom she was grateful for his kindness towards her - he had committed the most horrible crimes.</p><p>"I didn't mean to spoil your appetite," Snape said almost apologetically when he saw her drop her half-eaten scone. After another moment of silence, he dropped his as well.</p><p>"I've spoiled my own appetite. The best tea in the world can’t make up for what happened tonight. I'm sorry," he whispered almost inaudibly.</p><p>Ginny’s mind reeled. Had he not said the day before he would spend the night at Malfoys'? There was only one person he could be talking about.</p><p>"What did you say?" she asked slowly.</p><p>Snape looked up and seemed to realise what her reaction meant. "You are quite fast, Ginevra," he commented just as slowly.</p><p>Again, silence spread between them, as they stared at each other. Then, without warning, Ginny broke the silence with a resounding slap.</p><p>"You pig! How dare you?" she hurled accusingly at him. "Haven’t you done enough? Is it impossible for you to just stay away form people? Do you always look for ways to make everything worse? I thought-”</p><p>Ginny stopped herself. What was she thinking? That he was a good man? That she could trust him? That he was different than the other Death Eaters? She definitely was not as naïve as that.</p><p>A tear rolled down her cheek. Suddenly she realised she had actually started to trust him. That she had gained the hope to turn him over. To win him back into the Order. He had lulled her with his kindness and given her a false sense of security. His outburst earlier in the kitchen, the violence - THAT was his true face.</p><p>She stared at him in disbelief. Again, fear crept up inside her, but this time it was much more real. She was alone with a man without her wand, who could do anything he wanted with his magic - and who had just obviously raped her best friend. She would have loved to run away, but there was no room in this house where she could hide from him. None of the doors had a lock, and even if they did - he had magic.</p><p>"There it is again, the fear," she heard Snape say. Without waiting for a reaction from her, he drank his cup of tea, poured himself a second one with milk, took it, and disappeared into his study without another word.</p><p>Ginny remained alone, confused and frightened, left in front of the fireplace. Although the fire was burning, she was suddenly freezing cold.</p>
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